Reunited
by MelShep
Summary: After barely escaping the Collector Base, Casey searches desperately for the Normandy crew so that she can once more join the fight. But is there any real hope now that the Reapers are here? And how will her relationship with Garrus survive after so long apart?
1. Chapter 1

**Hello again everyone, I intended to take a longer break than this due to being ridiculously busy recently (first year as a teacher, why did I choose this job?!), but I just couldn't let this story go!**

**For those of you who are new to my stories, this is actually the sequel to 'Falling for Garrus', which you can read if you click on my profile :)**

**I would probably recommend reading that one first if you really wanted to get to know my characters and story, but if not, you will probably be able to pick up the events pretty quickly when reading this one :) **

**Also, just a reminder that while I stick to some elements of the ME games, I like to change them around and make them a bit different (I get a little bored reading fanfic that pretty much just tells me what I've already seen when playing the game!). So I use the ME characters and stories, and change them into my own interpretation. I also pick and choose characters from the different games depending on how much I like them (for example, my first story was based on the events of ME2, but James Vega, Samantha Traynor and Steve Cortez were all members of the Normandy crew). **

**I think that's all I wanted to say. I hope you like the new story! The chapters may be a bit spread out or really close together depending on my schedule, but I've got some big ideas, so let's see where they go!**

**Mel**

* * *

"Fifty!" The Vorcha hissed.

"This stuff isn't worth forty, let alone fifty. I'll give you thirty-five, that's it."

"Fifty!" The Vorcha repeated. Casey sighed. Why did she feel like she'd been here before? She leaned on the counter. "Listen to me," she muttered, "These medical supplies are vital for some of the refugees here: people you probably used to know. So you can either give them to me for thirty five, or I can send the Talons to come and take your whole store for free. It's your choice."

The Vorcha growled, but then nodded. "Fine, thirty five. Take and go!"

Casey smiled. "Always nice doing business with you." She took the bag from the counter, and made her way out of the shop. Back out on the street she pulled her hood down until it almost covered her eyes, and hurried on her way, careful not to make eye contact with anyone. They were still only rounding up the other species so far, but Casey had heard rumours that some of the Cerberus officers were beginning to arrest young Human women out on their own for some 'crime' or another, in order to force them into striking deals for their freedom. Obviously, this was something she wanted to avoid at all costs. Besides, once Cerberus had you on their system, it was much harder to hide, and hiding was the one of the things she had gotten very good at lately.

Omega was darker than it used to be. The street lights flickered on and off, and she caught glances of figures disappearing into the shadows every time a small burst of light lit their faces. It was hotter too, something to do with the drills running harder, Casey assumed. She felt beads of perspiration on her forehead, but continued on with her fast pace.

* * *

After twenty minutes or so, she found herself outside Afterlife, and finally stopped for a moment to catch her breath. She watched as a small group of people standing in single file, were lead into the club. Smaller haul today: three Batarians, one Elcor, a Turian and a couple of Vorcha. Either the other species were learning to hide better, or there were just less of them to be rounded up.

'Registration'. That's what Cerberus had called it. They invited all species other than the Humans to come and register at these small drop-in centres that popped up everywhere. A few went, most didn't. It soon became apparent that anyone Cerberus deemed a 'threat', would be moved to a containment facility, and then mysteriously disappear. When the other species stopped going voluntarily, Cerberus began rounding them up. The only Aliens you could find out in the open streets of Omega these days were those who had cleared processing (usually the old or sick), or those who were in hiding, and attempting to quickly travel between safe houses.

The Elcor caught Casey's eye. She ran her finger along the handle of the knife tucked into her belt. How she would've loved to run over and take out those Cerberus bastards: free the Elcor and the others, make one tiny move towards getting Omega back to normal. But as she watched the Elcor pushed into Afterlife, she knew it wouldn't work. She may have been able to take out a couple of Cerberus troops, her hand to hand combat had improved greatly over the past few months, but there were always more. She couldn't afford to find herself locked up or worse right now, not while people depended on her.

Casey saw a Cerberus engineer watching her, and she quickly continued on her way, towards the slums.

* * *

It didn't take Casey long to reach the bridge, and though the area seemed quiet, she knew she was being viewed through the crosshair of a sniper's scope right now. She lowered her hood and moved on towards the building.

The doors opened as she approached, and for the first time since she'd left earlier, Casey felt like she could breathe easy.

"Any problems?" Asked Fendris, a Salarian tech.

Casey shook her head, and he gave a little smile, taking the bag of supplies she held out to him.

"That's good. It happened a few minutes after you left."

Casey's eyes widened, "You're kidding!"

"Nope, without you here I had to hold the towels."

Casey felt a grin spread across her face, and hurried to the stairs, briefly waving at a few of the people settled in the living area downstairs. There were around seven families in the house, with a few more individuals, and space was in high demand.

Casey took the stairs two at a time, turning left at the top and entering the bedroom. The Turian woman, Norana, lay in the bed, cradling a small bundle in her arms. She smiled when she saw Casey enter, gesturing with her fingers for her to come closer. Casey hurried over, and caught first sight of the new-born Turian baby. It was awake, staring around the room at all the friendly, excited faces, with its bright blue eyes. "It's a boy," Norana whispered.

"He's perfect," Casey breathed.

"I'm naming him Rannus."

Casey nodded, his father's name. Norana's husband had been killed two weeks ago when a group of Cerberus operatives had taken out one of the Talon strongholds. Rannus had been a member of the gang: trying to take Omega back from Cerberus, and had left his heavily pregnant wife in the care of Casey and the others. News of his death had been a devastating blow for all of them: the Talons had looked like they were making real progress towards kicking Cerberus off the station, but with the bombing of one of the Talon's main bases of operations, their organisation had been severely weakened. Talk of defeating Cerberus turned to whispers, hissed in the dark corners of Omega.

"You should get some rest," Casey said to Norana. "You must be exhausted."

She left Norana and Rannus to get some peace, though there was still a group of people desperate to see the baby. Casey knew that everyone needed something to focus on at the moment, something beautiful and innocent, and a baby was perfect for that.

Casey moved to the only other room upstairs. This was the main bedroom, but also the meeting room, and place where all their actions were planned and discussed. At the moment it was empty, and Casey dropped down onto one of the couches, closing her eyes. She didn't like to be alone in here too much, it reminded her of the first time she'd come to this place. The night of the party on the Normandy. The night she'd left to explore Omega with Garrus.

She felt her throat constrict, even thinking his name made her whole body hurt. But what would she have done if he'd never taken her to this base? The place where he'd once taken the identity of 'Archangel', and done what she was trying to do: something good for Omega. It had been the only place she'd felt safe since arriving back on this god-awful station. But as grateful as she was, she couldn't think about that night, about the first time they'd made love on the very bed she now slept in. It brought too much to the surface, so much hurt and pain. As far as Garrus knew, Casey had died on the Collector base. He had no idea she'd managed to escape on a Collector fighter ship and practically crash land on Omega. That was months ago.

Casey sighed, it seemed like much more time had passed since she arrived, nearly dead, on Omega.

* * *

_There it was, she could see it, Omega! Something was happening to Casey. She didn't feel right. It wasn't just the bone jutting out of her arm, the amount of blood she'd lost from not only that wound, but the numerous others dotted around her body, or the general battered state she was in. No, her head was pounding, her mouth was dry, she felt sick, and nothing seemed to be standing still. In fact, as she neared the station, Omega itself seemed to be dancing before her eyes. Luckily, she didn't need to do anything to the ship, it seemed to be directing itself to the docking bay. _

_Finally Casey felt solid ground beneath her, and she shakily pulled out the key card: stopping the engine. Heaving herself out took all the energy she had, and within moments Casey found herself on the floor of the dock. She wanted to get up, but she just couldn't, her body had had enough. Dreamily she watched as two figures approached. They looked Batarian. _

"_I was expecting a Collector."_

"_Glad it's not, I hate those things."_

"_Still, what's a Human doing in a Collector ship?"_

"_No idea, she looks pretty beat up."_

"_Leave her, it's almost the end of our shift."_

"_We can't, we should get her to a Doctor."_

"_She won't thank you for it, her kind hate our kind."_

"_Maybe they wouldn't if we didn't suggest leaving them to die on the dock. You can do what you want, I'm taking her to the clinic."_

* * *

"You look deep in thought."

Casey looked up, Nyreen Kandros, head of the Talons, was standing in the doorway. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything important?" She asked.

Casey shook her head, "No, of course not, come in."

Nyreen walked into the room. "I'm sorry to arrive unannounced."

Casey smiled, "You're always welcome here Nyreen, what can I do for you?" Nyreen and the Talons were one of the few groups doing some good on Omega. Not only that, but they had already dedicated a small team of Talons to protect Casey's group. Casey may not have had much to offer, but she would always do anything she could to help Nyreen.

"Our team is low on medical supplies. We know that your group need all they have, and that's the same with the others in this area. We don't want to raid the hospital or doctor's surgeries, but we know Cerberus has a large cache in their 'recruitment centre' just outside Afterlife. We can't send our people: they have cameras everywhere, and our faces would be recognised and sound the alarms. We need a small team to slip in and out."

"How?" Casey asked.

"You go in as potential recruits, and one of you slips away to the back room while the rest of you distract the officer."

"Do they not have alarms on the gear?"

"According to my sources, no."

"Because they don't think anyone would be stupid enough to just walk into their base…"

Casey spun around, perched on the window overlooking the bridge was Anaya. Anaya was a slender Asari, with light blue markings that framed her eyes like intricate make up. She wore a closely fitted black bodysuit, similar to the one Miranda had favoured on the Normandy. Unlike Miranda, however, Anaya was like a shadow. She climbed and jumped between buildings, slipped in and out of sight within seconds, and was a master thief. Nobody saw her unless she wanted them to, and this had made her one of the most valuable members of Casey's group.

Anaya dropped down from the window and walked towards Casey and Nyreen. "Right?" She asked Nyreen.

"Well, I imagine that's the reason, yes." Nyreen replied stiffly, reminding Casey for a fleeting moment of Garrus. She shook that thought away.

"Of course we'll do it, Nyreen," Casey replied.

"Yeah," Anaya shrugged, "Who doesn't like a good suicide mission?"

"Thank you," Nyreen breathed, only looking at Casey. "You're really helping my people. As payment I can provide another sniper for your group."

"Two." Anaya interrupted, and Nyreen gave her a cold gaze. Casey stepped between them in what she hoped looked like an innocent movement. "One is fine, thank you Nyreen."

Nyreen nodded, and turned to leave.

"Always a pleasure Reenie!" Anaya called. Nyreen didn't turn back, and continued out of the door. "She's such fun," Anaya added to Casey, rolling her eyes and taking off her backpack. Casey turned around, exasperated. "Do you have to do everything in your power to get under her skin?"

Anaya seemed to be thinking for a moment. "Yes."

Casey shoved her playfully. Anaya continued, "I don't know, it's just Turians. That whole self-righteous thing they've got going on. I can't take it." She stopped, her eyes flicking towards Casey. Anaya was the only person on Omega that Casey had told about Garrus. "Sorry, I-"

"It's fine," Casey replied hurriedly. "What did you bring?"

Anaya's eyes glittered as she opened her bag, "You'll never believe what weapons those Cerberus guys just leave lying around!"

* * *

_After being found by the Batarians, Casey was in a hospital bed for a month. What she gathered from the snippets of conversation she overheard in her brief moments of consciousness, was that she had not only sustained physical damage when she fell down the shaft in the Collector base, but she'd also had a bad reaction to the poison they'd used to put her to sleep in the tube. She was woozy and unresponsive for so long, that it took her three weeks to realise she was staying in the same clinic where she'd worked as a Nurse, with Mordin Solus. _

_The Batarian who brought her in either felt guilty for something, was trying to get rid of some stolen credits, or was genuinely kind hearted (the least likely of the three options when you came from Omega), because he had paid for all of Casey's medical care in advance. She would've liked to thank him when she got out, but he never came back to the clinic, and left no name or address. _

_When Casey was finally allowed out, she had nowhere to go. Her old apartment had long since been sold, and Casey had no friends on Omega now that Mordin had left. Her credit chit no longer worked either. Casey supposed that when your squad mates see you die (or at least thought they did), your account closed pretty quickly. _

_Casey had wandered the streets of Omega for a day, finding herself feeling more and more desperate. That's when she'd found herself outside Afterlife. _

Aria.

_The thought had hit her like a shuttle to the head, how had she not thought of Aria before? They may not have been friends, but Casey used to work for her. More than that: Aria had once seduced her, had sex with her on that famous couch. Surely that meant she harboured some kind of affection towards Casey, however small? Enough to give her a ship, and an idea of where to go? There was only one way to find out._

_Casey entered the club, surprised for a moment at how little it had changed. Since Casey left Omega, her whole life had turned upside-down. She'd practically become a different person, yet here was Afterlife, still the loud, dark, sleazy place it had always been. Casey supposed that it should have comforted her: given her some sense of being 'home', or of stability at the very least. But it didn't, all it did was make her feel like she was being dragged back down into her old life all over again. _

_Shaking away these thoughts, Casey strode confidently towards Aria's room overlooking Afterlife. One of her guards, a Batarian whose name Casey couldn't recall, held out his arm to stop her. "What do you want, human?" He asked. _

"_I need to see Aria."_

_The guard looked like he was about to say something, when Casey heard a familiar voice. "Let her through." The Batarian stepped aside, and Casey moved around towards Aria, who did not get up. _

"_Well, well," The Asari began, a slight smile on her face. "I heard you'd come home." Once again Aria proved how well informed she was, who could've told her Casey was back? As far as she'd been aware, she was anonymous here._

"_It's been a long time," Aria continued, " I thought you went off with Shepard to save the world? Though I suppose that vacation is over now…"_

"_Aria, I need a favour-" But then Casey processed what Aria had said. "What do you mean, it's over?" _

_Aria looked mildly surprised. "Then you haven't heard? Dear Commander Shepard is in lock up back on Earth. Something about destroying a relay?"_

"_Crashing a relay into a Batarian colony!" The guard growled from the corner. Aria looked mildly annoyed. "Yes thank you Bray, and we're all devastated about the loss. Do me a favour, go intimidate someone or something."_

_Bray looked angry, but nodded and left. _

"_He's been driving me crazy," Aria said, rolling her eyes. But Casey couldn't pay attention to that, Shepard was locked up? He destroyed a relay? Destroyed a colony?_

"_Wh-what about the Normandy? The rest of the crew?" Casey stuttered._

_Aria shrugged, "Went their separate ways. Nothing to hold them together with Shepard gone."_

_Casey dropped down onto the couch, trying to keep herself from breaking down. How would she find Garrus now? _

_Aria leaned closer, now looking interested. "What's wrong?" Her eyes lit up for a moment, "You got something going on with Shepard?"_

"_No!" Casey replied, perhaps a little too quickly, because Aria's eyes continued to glitter._

"_Not Shepard, but someone then?" She grinned. "Oh Casey, I'm positively jealous."_

_Casey's cheeks began to burn, Aria was sitting in the exact spot on which she'd ravished Casey, what seemed like an eternity ago. Aria's grin spread wider, "Don't worry Casey, I'm in a… committed relationship now."_

_She said 'committed relationship' like it was an illness, then continued. "So the way I see it, you've got three options."_

_Casey looked up, she wasn't aware she even had one. _

"_One: you go to Earth and become Shepard's bunk mate until he's released or killed by Batarians."_

_Casey rolled her eyes, and Aria laughed. "Ok, two: I give you a ship and you roam the galaxy aimlessly with the unlikely hope that you'll somehow run into the rest of the crew."_

"_You'd give me a ship?" _

"_Of course, but I'm pretty sure you're not choosing option two."_

_She was right, Casey could fly around for years and not find a single member of the Normandy crew. "What's option three?" She asked, feeling her choices narrow before her very eyes. _

"_You stay here. I'll give you your old job back, and you can earn some money while you try and find out where your friends are. There's a room going in the dancers quarters, as long as you don't mind the smell of sweat and glitter."_

_Casey was grateful, Aria didn't have to do any of this for her, and as she accepted the offer, she tried to look like she was happy about it. _

_But she wasn't happy, she was back on Omega. It felt like she was falling back into her old life, and her new one was slipping away before her very eyes. _

* * *

Are you ready? Anaya stood in the doorway to the main bedroom. Casey nodded. Now was not the time to reminisce. It was time to steal some medical supplies from Cerberus!


	2. Chapter 2

**Two chapters in quick succession?! I doubt this will happen again! Hopefully upload chapter three next weekend if all goes to plan. Thanks for the reviews and favourites guys, always makes me really happy :) Enjoy!**

* * *

"Wait," Casey began, watching as Anaya pulled her hood up. "You're not coming too?"

Anaya looked momentarily confused, then smiled. "It's no sweat Case, with my hood down I can pass for human, you can't see that I don't have hair."

"Uhuh, and the blue skin?"

Anaya looked at her pale blue hands…"I'm cold?" She suggested lamely.

Casey raised an eyebrow, and Anaya continued. "Oh come on, Cerberus are idiots, they won't even notice!"

"You know we can't take that chance. The rules are, no Aliens on Omega who haven't gone through registration, especially anywhere near their bases. You'd be like a lamb to the slaughter."

"A what?"

Casey sighed, "No means no."

Anaya rolled her eyes. "Fine, but I'll be watching from one of the rooftops. Any sign of trouble-" she slung her sniper rifle over her shoulder, "and I blow their heads off. Deal?"

Casey nodded, knowing this was the best option she was going to get, and watched as Anaya climbed onto the window ledge and dropped out of sight.

_I don't think I've ever seen her use the door, _Casey thought, grabbing her bag and heading downstairs.

The team had been prepped, and were ready to go. Fendris was there, as well as the two human men who were accompanying her on the mission: Max and Josh. Fendris handed Casey a bag. "Good luck," he said as she slung it over her shoulder.

* * *

It didn't take long to travel through the quiet streets and reach the recruitment centre. It was certainly a different experience: walking through Omega without being hassled to buy from a street vendor, or getting your pockets picked after an 'accidental' collision. But Casey would've traded anything to get it back to the way it used to be, when the people were reckless, dangerous, but free.

Once they arrived at the recruitment centre, Casey nodded at Max and Josh, and led them through the doors.

The room they arrived in looked a little like a Doctor's waiting room, with a couple of sofas and a desk, behind which sat a Cerberus officer. Casey could never tell what they looked like, or even if it was a man or a woman, because they always wore such heavy armour and helmets.

Casey approached the desk first. "Can I help you?" The officer asked, and Casey noted that this one had a man's voice.

"We're here to sign up," Casey said, spreading a false smile across her face.

The officer nodded, and began to gather together some forms. Cerberus had offered all Human civilians the opportunity to join their ranks. They wore different uniform, and were often given the worst jobs, but those in the Civilian army seemed to do a little better than the others. At least they were allowed to carry weapons.

"How long have you been interested in joining?" The officer asked conversationally.

"Oh…ages." Casey could tell that didn't sound convincing enough, so she continued in a way that she hoped seemed much more enthusiastic. "We've always felt that there were far too many aliens on Omega, running the place like they own it! We decided that now you guys were here, it was finally time to do something about it."

"Yeah," Max continued. "We'll do whatever it takes!"

"Glad to hear it." The officer handed out the forms, and now Casey put the next part of her plan into place.

"Excuse me," she began, "May I use your bathroom?"

Ok, so it wasn't exactly ingenious, but it should give her the opportunity to sneak around a little.

The officer barely looked at her before nodding towards the nearest door. Casey moved over, and then nodded to Max, who 'accidentally' knocked a pile of papers from the desk and onto the floor.

"Oh man, I'm sorry!" He mumbled, leaning down to help the officer pick them up. Casey used the opportunity to bypass the bathroom door and slip through a door to the side of the desk: closing it silently behind her.

She now had exactly five minutes to find the supplies and make it back to the door in time for Max's second distraction. She was standing in a long corridor, with doors either side, and began to make her way towards the door labelled 'medical'. There was no point trying to look casual, like she was meant to be there, Cerberus were never out of their uniforms, so no matter how confident she looked, the moment anyone saw her they'd know she wasn't one of them.

Casey quickened her pace until she was outside the door she needed, and listened outside it for a moment. There didn't seem to be anyone inside, and so she quietly pushed it open and went inside. The room looked like a hospital operating theatre. There was a bed in the middle, and a number of small tables surrounding it, with trays of medical equipment on top. Lining the walls of the room were cabinets. Casey moved to the nearest one. Locked. Next one. That was locked too. Casey's stomach sank, would this all end up being for nothing?

The third cabinet was locked too. But Casey was finally in luck: the forth cabinet opened, and it was filled with medi-gel! Casey began to load up her bag. She looked at her watch, only two minutes left. She picked up the pace.

"What the hell is this?"

Darkness.

* * *

"_I'll take another", the Batarian growled, pushing his glass towards Casey. She filled it for him, and he snatched it away, swallowing the gold liquid in greedy mouthfuls. The Batarians were a lot angrier these days, ever since Shepard destroyed one of their colonies all those months ago. Casey still had no idea how or why that had happened: it had been after she left, but she was sure Shepard wouldn't have done it unless there weren't any other options. _

_Still, she was careful not to let anyone know where she had been after leaving Omega. Around here, even saying Shepard's name in the presence of Batarians was reason enough to be strung up from a lamppost and left to rot. At least it meant she was hassled by Batarian customers less often, very few of them could even look at a human without grinding their teeth. Of course, that made the ones who were interested in her even more dangerous, and she was careful to keep her knife close to her at all times._

_Casey glanced lazily around the club. It was pretty slow tonight. There were the usual crowd of loyal drunks, the dancers of course (who were putting on a rather lacklustre show due to the smaller audience), and a couple of new people Casey had never seen before. There was a big fight being held on the other side of town, and half of Omega had put bets on. Afterlife would almost certainly be dead until that ended. _

"_Get the fuck out of here!" _

_Casey looked up. A female Turian was storming out of Aria's room, with Aria close behind. Aria's biotics were rippling, and she looked the angriest Casey had ever seen her. _

"_I mean it Nyreen!" She continued, "I want you off my station. If I get so much as a whiff of your cheap perfume-"_

_But the Turian wasn't responding. She simply continued towards the exit, giving Casey one casual glance before she left. _

_Aria was still standing at the bottom of the steps to her room, her eyes on the door through which the Turian named Nyreen had left. Then she looked around. The patrons and dancers (who had now stopped gyrating on stage) were all staring at her with their mouths open. It was rare to see Aria lose her cool, and the people were watching her like she was a stage show. _

_That was a mistake, with Aria this angry the best advice was to keep your head down. Casey tried to look busy, like she hadn't even noticed anything happening. She heard Aria's angry voice. "What the fuck are you all looking at?!" Casey glanced out of the corner of her eye and saw Aria head up to her room. "Casey, bring me a fucking drink."_

_Aria felt her stomach sink. The last thing she wanted was to be anywhere near Aria when she was this angry. But not doing as she asked at a time like this would be a very bad decision, so she quickly poured out a glass of Aria's favourite whisky and made her way towards the door to her room. _

_Aria was talking into her omni-tool, and didn't seem to hear Casey enter. "Kandros," she repeated. "I want you to make sure she gets off this station." Her voice softened for just a moment when she hastily added: "No, no I don't want you to kill her. Will you just do what I fucking asked?" She hung up and glanced at Casey. _

"_On the table," she muttered, and Casey shakily put down the glass. Aria dropped onto the sofa and took a long swig of her drink. Casey stood around nervously, not sure whether she was expected to stay or go. _

"_You can leave," Aria hissed, not looking at Casey. _

_But there was something in her eyes, something Casey had never seen before. Sadness? She'd seen Aria angry, outraged, fierce, and once or twice, even kind…but never upset. She'd never shown that much vulnerability before. _

_So Casey didn't leave. She slowly, as if approaching a Tiger, moved towards Aria, and sat beside her on the couch. Aria didn't say anything, but looked at Casey with an expression of mild surprise. Casey put her arm around Aria's shoulders, wondering as she did so whether Aria would kill her for such a bold action, or just throw her out of the window. _

_Surprisingly she did neither, instead Aria laid her head down on Casey's shoulder. "She said she was turning into me, and that that was something she couldn't bear..."_

_Casey didn't say anything, but continued to hold Aria close. _

"_I let myself fall in love with her…What a fucking idiot."_

_Aria didn't cry, she never cried. But she didn't push Casey away either._

* * *

When Casey woke up, everything was blurry. There was a bright light shining close above her. She tried to move her hand to cover her face, but couldn't do it. She turned her head, which hurt a lot, but managed to get a look at her arm, which she now saw was tied to the table. The other one too, and her legs.

Her mouth was dry, and the back of her head was pounding. She tried to remember the last thing she did.

There was a Cerberus recruitment centre. She was collecting medi-gel. Then the voice, and the darkness. Someone must have found her in the medical room, knocked her out. Casey looked around. She was in the same room, and she wasn't alone. There was a woman over at the other side, standing with her back to the bed, looking through one of the cabinets that had been locked. It contained hundreds and hundreds of bottles, filled with liquids of all different colours.

"Hey!" Casey croaked, rattling her arm restraints. The woman turned around, and Casey wondered for a moment whether she was Cerberus at all. She certainly wasn't wearing the armour. But the woman said nothing, and simply turned and left the room. Casey lay her head back on the pillow, still jangling her restraints. She had no idea how long she'd been there. Were Max and Josh ok? What about Anaya? If Casey didn't come back there was a chance Anaya would break into the place guns blazing. She could get hurt, or worse. Casey tried to pull her hands free desperately.

The door opened, and Casey froze. A Human man with a medical mask over his mouth and nose entered the room. He glanced at Casey for a moment, before heading to the same cabinet the woman had been using. He took a bottle filled with clear liquid and moved towards the bed.

"What is your name?" He asked, filling a syringe from the bottle.

Casey didn't answer, didn't take her eyes off him.

The doctor, if he even was a real doctor, seemed to expect that. He put the bottle down, the syringe still in his other hand.

"You came for medical supplies. Are your people hurt?"

Again, Casey didn't reply. With Cerberus it was always much safer to say nothing at all.

"Perhaps we can help them?" The doctor suggested, sitting on a seat beside the bed. When Casey didn't reply for the third time, he sighed. "I know you're working for the Talons. If you tell me where they are, I promise we can make things a lot easier for you."

Casey turned away, noticing for the first time that her left arm had several small needle marks in it. She turned back to the doctor, eyes wide. He glanced at her arm lazily. "Oh yes, we have been injecting you with a brand new compound we have been experimenting with. Don't worry, we're sure it's quite safe."

Casey's felt her mouth open, and finally she spoke. "Why?"

The doctor removed his mask and smiled. "Because I knew you would never speak, and so you will be useful in a different way. You're a criminal, and it is the job of Cerberus to free this station from the hands of those like yourself." He leaned in, and inserted the needle into her arm: not gently. As the liquid entered her body, Casey felt cold. As though an icy snake were slithering its way through her veins.

* * *

Suddenly there was a crash, then another, then the sound of an explosion not far from the room. The walls shook. The doctor spun to fact the door, leaving the needle in Casey's arm. Screams. Gunfire. The doctor looked at Casey with wide eyes, and then the door was blown off its hinges and thrown across the room. A cloaked figure stood in the doorway. Casey couldn't see the person's face, but they seemed to be looking at her. Then the cloaked figure turned to face the doctor, stepping calmly into the room. Casey could make out the flicker of flames outside the door.

"Wait-" The doctor began, but before he could continue he was lifted off his feet and slammed against the wall with a biotic field. Then another. Then another. His body was limp now, and finally the figure let him slide to the floor. It ran to Casey, and when she lowered her hood, Casey realised it was Anaya.

"Anaya?" Casey asked. Her voice sounded different now. Slurred.

"Everything's going according to plan I see," Anaya said with a weak smile. She looked down at Casey with a worried expression, gently removing the needle from her arm. She untied Casey from the bed, and lifted her out.

* * *

_Casey's heart was pounding. They were undercover, and she was dancing with Garrus in a crowded night club. She was so nervous. She was coming to terms with the fact that she had feelings for him, but had absolutely no idea whether he felt the same way._

_They were playing a game, making up little stories about their fellow squadmates: imagining what other people might think when they saw each of them in the room, but now it was Casey's turn, and she couldn't think of any other crew members. Her mouth seemed to talk without her consent, because she suddenly heard herself say, _"_Uhh…..us?" _

_Garrus smiled, "Oh we're definitely on some kind of date."_

_Casey's heart pounded, but she tried to sound casual. "Really? Have we gone to dinner first?"_

_"Is that what humans do on dates?"_

_"Sure, dinner and dancing. Why? What do Turians do?"_

_"Usually you grab a woman by the waist and drag her back to your cave."_

_Casey must have looked shocked, because Garrus laughed. "I'm kidding, of course we go to dinner."_

_"I knew you were joking!" Casey insisted, though she couldn't help but feel a bit relieved._

_Garrus smiled, "So yes, I would have taken you to dinner. Somewhere fancy, though not too fancy, wouldn't want to get your expectations too high."_

_"A girl should have low expectations on a date with you?"_

_"Oh yeah, real low. At least until she sees my dancing."_

_"Is this our first date?"_

_"I'd say third or fourth."_

_"Then you're playing it pretty safe," Casey replied._

_"How so?" Garrus asked._

_Casey, surprised at her own daring, shifted Garrus' hands, which were on her back, lower down. She waited, if he pulled them away then she'd know she'd read it completely wrong. But he didn't, he just smiled. "This is more believable?" He asked._

_"Definitely," Casey replied, her heart hammering in her chest._

_Garrus stroked the material of her dress softly._

_At that moment his Omni-tool lit up. He glanced at it, before stepping away. "I'm sorry, that was a message from Shepard. Samara thinks she's seen Morinth, he wants back up."_

_"I'll come too."_

_"No. Stay here, we're not certain it's her."_

_Casey raised an eyebrow. "You're worried about me accidentally shooting you aren't you?" Her aim was notoriously dreadful._

_Garrus gave her a wicked smile, "If you mangle my face much more than it already is, you might not want to come back to my cave." Then he left, once again, before she could fully process what he'd just said._

* * *

Casey had had many dreams like this: reliving past events as if she was there again. Sometimes they were from her childhood, sometimes from missions on the Normandy, but mostly they were of Garrus.

Casey slipped in and out of consciousness, her body temperature ranging from scalding hot to freezing cold. Fendris took blood samples while Anaya did her best to keep Casey warm or cool, and constantly mopped at her ever sweating forehead.

After seven hours Casey's body temperature finally stabilised, and she felt well enough to sit up in her bed and sip water.

"I feel different," she croaked, her throat raw.

Anaya looked her up and down. "Well, you look like shit, I suppose that's kind of different" she began playfully. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I've seen you when you wake up in the morning and that's pretty bad, but nothing compared to this."

Casey rolled her eyes with a smile, but couldn't help but feel like Anaya was hiding something; It didn't take long to find out what, as Fendris entered the room a few minutes later looking astounded.

"I've confirmed it!" He gasped, and Casey caught sight of Anaya shooting daggers at him with her eyes.

"Confirmed what?" Casey asked.

Fendris, who seemed totally oblivious to Anaya's pointed stare, continued. "There are traces of element zero in your bloodstream."

Casey was confused. "Element zero? But…I'm not a biotic."

"Precisely!" Fendris seemed positively giddy.

"I don't think this is the right time," Anaya interrupted. "Casey needs some rest."

"Fendris," Casey interrupted. "What does this mean?"

Fendris took one glance at Anaya, but continued. "Cerberus are experimenting. From samples of your blood, and the syringe Anaya took from your arm, I can see that they are trying to find out how to induce Biotic power in humans."  
Casey shook her head. "They've done that before, but it only works on kids, and only if they've got some level of biotic ability anyway-"

Fendris shook his head. "That is why this is so exciting, this is something new! A way to unlock biotic ability where it was thought none existed. Now the subject must still have a level of biotic potential, however tiny and insignificant, then they use this compound to, in essence, force it to mutate into something bigger and a lot more powerful."

Casey's head was swimming, a mixture of dehydration, tiredness, and the incredible speed in which Fendris spoke. "So…what does this mean?" She asked.

"It's nothing to worry about right now," Anaya said gently.

"It means," Fendris babbled. "That Cerberus have found a way to unlock biotic abilities in you!"

Casey let this sink in for a moment. "So…I'm a biotic?"

"Well…"Fendris looked a little less excited now. "It's not necessarily that simple. The potential is there, but we don't know how easily you will be able to harness it, or how easy to control it will be…This is was an experimental drug after all."

"Why would Cerberus try to give me powerful biotics? I was stealing from them.."

Fendris paused for a moment, before saying quickly, "They would be unlikely to keep you alive. More likely wait until the 'treatment' was complete, and then euthanize and perform posthumous experiments."

"But obviously that isn't going to happen," Anaya cut across, sounding rather angry. "And I think that's enough for now Fendris. Casey needs to sleep."

Fendris nodded and left the room, leaving Casey with a million questions. "So…will I have biotic powers or not?" She asked Anaya. Her friend sighed, climbing into bed beside Casey and putting her arm around her.

"I don't know Casey," she began. "But whatever happens, I'll help you ok? Just promise me you'll think better of leaving me behind from now on."

"Ok I promise," Casey agreed.

"Oh, and promise me you'll take a shower too, no one should sweat as much as that, I'm starting to feel a little nauseous."

Casey gave Anaya a gentle shove. "Thanks for saving me," she breathed.

"Always," Anaya replied.

The door opened, and Casey looked up. Nyreen stood in the doorway. She paused for a moment, then came over. "Casey, are you ok? I heard something happened…"

"I'm fine," Casey assured her. "Anaya grabbed my bag, the meds are downstairs."

Nyreen looked relieved, and nodded at Anaya. She turned to leave, but when she reached the door Casey called after her. "Nyreen! I want three Talons."

Nyreen nodded, and left silently.


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks to everyone who has favourited, followed, or reviewed this story, it really makes my day when I see those notifications! I hope you like the next chapter, hopefully another one at the weekend! **

* * *

"Try again."

"I can't."

"Yes you can."

"I'm too tired."

Anaya rolled her eyes. "Come on Casey, you're the one who told me you wanted to learn how to do this stuff."

Casey, who was currently face down on her pillow did not attempt to roll over, and simply grumbled, "I never realised it would be this much work."

Anaya grabbed her by the arm and heaved her up onto her feet. "It gets easier," she assured, "But only if you actually work at it, now come on!"

Casey scowled, "I don't think I like you anymore." Anaya just laughed, and motioned towards the pencil on the desk. Casey sat down on the desk chair and tried to remember everything Anaya had already taught her. _Focus on the object, but don't fixate on it. Think that it's the most natural thing in the world to be able to move it with your mind, and you will. _

_Easier said than done, _Casey had thought even then, and after two days and no success, she was still strongly attached to that belief. She was beginning to wonder whether Fendris had been wrong, whether Cerberus had actually unlocked any kind of biotic potential in her. It did seem a little unbelievable. But Anaya said she could feel something: that other Biotics could sense it, and there was definitely something there.

"Focus!" Anaya scolded, gently slapping Casey across the back.

"Sorry," she groaned, her eyes locked on the pencil. _Move, _she thought. _Move!_

Nothing.

Casey sighed and stood up. She'd broken a sweat from concentrating so hard.

"You're not giving up," Anaya began.

"Oh yes I am," Casey growled. "We've been trying this stuff for two days, I feel like I've done nothing useful for anyone else, because I've been stuck in this room trying to get this goddamn pencil to move!"

She waved her hand at the desk, and suddenly the whole thing lifted into the air and shot across the room, crashing into the wall and breaking into a hundred pieces.

Anaya and Casey stared at it for a few moments, before Anaya broke the silence. "Well…you moved the pencil."

"…And the desk."

"Yeah, well, the pencil was on the desk…"

"Kind of broke it though."

"Yeah I didn't want to say anything…"

"That was nice of you."

The two women burst out laughing at the same time, as Fendris ran into the room to see what had made such a loud crash.

"Seems like anger is the key," Anaya noted, helping Casey to pick up the remains of the desk.

"Sure looks that way," Casey replied. "Though I'd rather get a bit more of a handle on it than that." Her thoughts drifted to Jack, who certainly understood what it meant to be an angry biotic. Casey had accidentally spilt spaghetti on her once and was almost smeared against the wall.

* * *

There was a noise from downstairs, Casey could hear the sounds of worried conversation, and the occasional shout. She caught Anaya's eye with a sense of dread. Leaving the remains of the desk where they were, she hurried towards the stairs and down into the main room, where a crowd was forming around the only Krogan in their group, Patriarch.

Patriarch had joined a few weeks after Omega went to hell, after Aria had left and the station was taken over by Cerberus. He was a very old Krogan, however he'd been one of the strongest members of their group: fantastic in any frontline assault.

Now, however, he didn't look too good. He was spattered with blood, and was leaning against the table for support. The crowd around him kept a safe distance: a wounded Krogan could almost certainly be more dangerous. It was when they felt like they had nothing to lose that they became the most violent.

"Patriarch?" Casey began cautiously.

His eyes, slightly glazed, seemed to come alive, but he said nothing. Fendris passed him a glass of water nervously, which Patriarch grabbed so violently that he almost took the Salarian's arm with it.

"What happened?" Casey asked. Patriarch had left that morning with a team of nine other men. They'd heard about a group of workers living down in the mines who were willing to join their cause. Patriarch's team had been sent to bring them to safety, yet here he was, alone.

"Went down to the mines," Patriarch finally began. "The people living there had been slaughtered. Thought it was by Cerberus, but it wasn't."

There was a collective gasp amongst the group. If Cerberus hadn't killed them, there was only one other explanation.

"Adjutants?" Anaya asked. "But, I thought they were trapped? Cerberus said they'd sealed the areas with Adjutants off so that they could deal with them-"

"You believe Cerberus?" Patriarch interrupted angrily. "It was them. They've escaped, or Cerberus let them out or something. Either way, the mines aren't safe for us anymore."

"Is there any chance of them coming further in?" Casey asked.

Patriarch shrugged. "I barricaded the door we came in through, but who knows whether there's another way they could get out. We're going to have to be a lot more careful from now on."

He got up from the table and strode away, no doubt looking to find someplace quiet. Casey knew he would be devastated about the loss of his team, they all were, but she couldn't help but admire his ability to get away. There were very few on Omega who could say they'd escaped an Adjutant, and even fewer who could claim to have defeated one.

Well, there was one she knew of.

* * *

_It was much busier tonight, but that was to be expected. Over the past few days more and more Cerberus troops have been arriving on Omega. They had made no attempt to cause trouble, and the official word was that they were there on shore leave, however it was enough to make many of the species on Omega very nervous. Casey kept her head down, she had worked for Cerberus with Commander Shepard, but seeing as how Shepard was locked up on Earth, and it was all over the extranet that he had cut all ties with the organisation, she decided it was best to stay as far from them as possible. _

_Then there were the abductions. It seemed like every day there was more and more news about people disappearing. Now this was Omega, people went missing every day and no one batted an eyelid, but this was different. The sheer numbers were staggering, and it almost felt like people were being 'rounded up'. But there were no bodies either, and that was almost more frightening. Where were all these people going? Were they being kept alive? _

_And so people were beginning to stick together, and come to places like Afterlife: crowded places, places that felt safe. But no one actually felt safe. Casey could tell that by the looks in their eyes, the way they danced, and the number of drinks they were putting away. _

"_Casey, you ok?" _

_Casey turned around, Anaya, a dancer and drinks server was looking at her in a concerned way. Casey nodded. "You looked worried," Anaya pressed, putting down her empty tray on the bar and joining her behind it. Anaya and Casey had hit it off from their first shift together, and had soon swapped rooms with other girls so that they could become roommates in the dancer's quarters. There was something about Anaya that was so likeable: she was sarcastic, strong willed, but also kind. She almost reminded Casey of Kasumi, though she didn't like to think that. She valued both friendships far too much to try and draw comparisons. _

"_I'm fine," Casey reassured her. "Just thinking about everything that's going on at the moment. It's a little scary." _

_Anaya nodded, "Sure, but then when is Omega_ not_ scary? I was walking home the other day through that shortcut I showed you, and all these guys surrounded me. It was horrible…"_

_Casey raised her eyebrow, "Yes, but Anaya, you told me earlier that you threw them into the trash compactor with a biotic throw."_

"_Oh yeah, I meant it was horrible for them." Anaya flashed her trademark wicked grin, and began to pour more drinks._

_Then there was a noise, a scream so loud and so tragic that everyone in the club stopped what they were doing and looked around them for the person who had made it. Suddenly the door to the club opened, and an Asari ran inside. "Help!" She cried, "It's coming!" _

_The door opened again, and a creature appeared in the entrance. Casey had never seen anything like it before, and would struggle to describe it to others later on, it was so beyond her understanding. The only two things she could vividly remember were the glowing blue eyes, and the tentacles that hung down from its mouth. It was almost like the Husks she had encountered with Shepard…but these were far from Human._

_The creature surveyed the club for a moment, while the customers panicked and ran for the other exit, climbing over and crushing each other at the door. A Turian who had been in the club every day since Casey came back removed a gun from its holster and opened fire on the beast. The shots had no effect, other than to make it angry, and it ran to him at such speed that he had no time to escape. It grabbed the Turian and tore him in half with its bare hands. Then it moved on to any other stragglers still in the club. _

_Casey felt something at her leg, and was pulled onto the floor. Anaya had pulled her out of sight. "Stay down," she breathed, and Casey nodded. _

_CRASH!_

_The sound of glass breaking drowned out the latest scream, and Casey couldn't help but peek over the bar. Aria had smashed the glass of her window, and used a biotic throw to launch the shards at the creature. She landed gently on the ground, and threw more and more biotic attacks at the thing. It was slowing it down, but not killing it. _

"_Someone get me a fucking gun!" Aria yelled, fighting to keep the creature on the floor. But most of the customers had gone, and the rest were cowering under their tables. Casey fumbled around under the bar for the pistol that was always kept there. "Here!" She threw it to Aria, who caught it one handed and fired three shots into the creature's eyes. _

_It stopped fighting, and its eyes began to dim. Casey moved around the bar, followed by Anaya, and looked around her. The club was littered with the remains of those the creature had ripped apart: so many pieces that Casey couldn't even see how many victims there had been. _

_Aria stood over the creature, looking down at it with loathing. When she spoke her voice was steady, but filled with intense anger. "Does anyone want to tell me what the FUCK that thing is?!"_

* * *

"Rough day," Anaya sighed. She was on her stomach on the bed, picking at her dinner. The food in their safe house wasn't exactly up to much, but they did the best they could. Casey had already eaten all of hers, she supposed the biotic throw earlier had taken a lot out of her.

"Mmmm," Casey replied in agreement.

"I thought all we had to worry about was Cerberus, now we've got fucking Adjutants too?"

"Maybe life seemed too easy for us before?" Casey suggested lamely. Anaya grinned.

"I wish I was back on Thessia, the food on Omega has always sucked."

"That's where you'd go?" Casey asked. "If you could get off here, you'd go back to Thessia?"

Anaya seemed to be thinking for a minute. "I don't know, maybe. I mean, I didn't exactly leave things on good terms with my mother."

"How come?" Casey asked. They'd never really talked about Anaya's family before. Casey felt like she'd told Anaya everything about herself: usually in the form of crying on her shoulder back in those early days when nights without Garrus became too much to bear. But Anaya, though she'd never exactly been secretive, had always been rather mysterious about her own life: often stating it was "far too dull" to talk about. Casey hadn't wanted to pry, friends were in short supply here.

"I fell out with my mother over the same reason most people fight with their parents," Anaya sighed. "Relationship stuff." She moved her dinner around her plate once more, before putting it onto the bed side table. "Mother was really old school, she wanted me to get an Asari girlfriend."

"I thought most Asari preferred not to?" Casey asked.

Anaya shrugged. "We don't have a problem with dating our own species, but usually we're encouraged to settle down with someone from a different race, the whole genetic diversity thing. But like I say, my mother was really old fashioned. She didn't like aliens…then I came home with a human girlfriend…Let's just say she didn't go for it."

"How old were you?"

"Really young, still living at home. I think she could've gotten over the human thing, but I wanted to see how far I could push it. We didn't exactly have the best relationship. It got to the point where it didn't matter if I even liked the people I was bringing home, I just wanted to shock her. I think it was the Hanar boyfriend that tipped her over the edge. She kicked me out and told me not to come back until I'd matured."

"So I guess you'll never go back then."

Anaya threw a pillow at Casey. "Very funny," she replied sarcastically.

"_Would you_ go back?" Casey asked.

Anaya didn't answer for a few moments, before nodding. "I think so. I've been away a long time, it'd be good to see if she's dead yet." She grinned, and Casey knew she was kidding. She continued, "Yeah, I'd go home. And I'd take you, you'd love it."

Casey smiled, "Deal."

"What about you?" Anaya asked. "Where would you go, if you could?"

"I don't know," Casey replied. And that was the truth of it. She knew who she'd want to be with, but she had no idea where he was.

* * *

She'd seen Garrus once since arriving on Omega. Not in person of course, but she had found a vid with him in it on the extranet. She'd searched his name for weeks, wanting to horde any information she might be able to get her hands on, but there was nothing about him since Shepard's arrest, and very little before that. So Casey had moved on to news about Shepard instead. There was more about him, though the updates were becoming less and less recent. She supposed long term incarceration didn't really give the press much news.

On one of these extranet searches she'd found a clip of the Normandy arriving on Earth, where Shepard was handing himself over to the alliance. He gave a short interview, the usual stuff in which he somehow managed to get the whole crowd on his side, and was then taken away. It was at that point Casey noticed that the rest of the crew were standing slightly off camera and to the right. They'd obviously come back with Shepard for moral support, and they watched him get escorted inside.

Casey could only just see Grunt and Miranda, but then the press seemed to spot the Normandy crew, and charged over to try and get interviews. Casey felt her heart swell when she saw Grunt punch a reporter in the face for saying something he deemed 'insulting' about Shepard. James and Jacob gave a short statement in which they gave their full support to Shepard, and the rest of the crew declined to comment. Kasumi was nowhere in sight, though that was to be expected. She caught sight of Samantha Traynor as she quickly scuttled out of sight, looking like she hadn't slept in a long time. Casey wondered if it had anything to do with her, after all they had been taken to the Collector base together. Casey hoped Sam wasn't carrying some kind of guilt, what happened to the two of them hadn't been her fault, and Casey had never once blamed her for their capture.

Just as Casey was beginning to wonder whether or not he was even there, she saw Garrus! He was standing right at the back of the group, his eyes on the floor. As the rest of them turned to leave, each apparently heading for a different shuttle now that the Normandy was impounded, one of the reporters noticed Garrus, and soon the camera was right in front of him.

"Garrus Vakarian, sir, can you give us a statement?"

"What do you think about Shepard's arrest?"

"Were you there when the relay was destroyed?"

Garrus said nothing, and his silence, his cold stare, seemed to silence them all. Then he turned and walked away, disappearing out of shot. A woman's voice said "There you have it, Shepard's crew giving their full support for the man who destroyed a Batarian colony. Have they been brainwashed by the legend? Or is there more to this story than meets the eye? We'll be talking to Captain David Anderson later on, in the Battle Space." And that was it, the clip ended.

Casey rewound to the part when Garrus was in front of the camera, and froze the image. She put her hands on his face, tried to imagine that he was standing in front of her. But she'd never seen him look like that. Broken. Defeated. Cold. He looked like a different person.

Then she saw something, something around his neck that was just visible above the line of his armour. A chain of some sort. She moved closer to the screen, her nose practically touching his face, trying to work out what it could possibly be. Garrus had never worn any kind of jewellery or dog tags.

_My necklace._

The thought had hit her like a bullet. The necklace he'd bought her all that time ago on Illium, the one that had reminded her of her mother's. At some point during the Collector attack on the Normandy she'd dropped it. Had Garrus found it? Started wearing it in her memory?

"I'm not dead!" She yelled at the screen. But of course, he couldn't hear her.


	4. Chapter 4

_Adjutants. That was what people were calling them. After the one in Afterlife, they seemed to be everywhere. Civilians barricaded themselves in their homes, or joined the militia. But as the days passed and more and more of those who fought were wiped out, the people of Omega began to hide. The Adjutants roamed the docks, and there was no way to leave. _

_That was when Casey and Anaya decided to do something useful. Casey had never realised how stealthy Anaya could be, and Anaya had never realised that Casey could handle a gun. They taught each other as much as they could, and together they tried to help the others. They brought food, water, and medicine to those who were hiding, and helped hide those who weren't. Aria T'Loak's mercs were doing the best they could, but the number of Adjutants was overwhelming. It soon became clear where the missing people had gone…_

_Then, after a week of this, Cerberus arrived in full force. Those who had already been on the station had already joined the fight against the Adjutants, and now that more of them had arrived, they seemed to be doing some good. Weeks later, however, Casey had found out that Cerberus had been the ones to create the Adjutants, and in fact this was all just a ploy to take control of Omega. Getting to experiment an army of mutants must have just been a bonus for them. _

_Things didn't seem to be at their worst until Aria disappeared. Many said she'd been killed by Adjutants, or Cerberus. Some claimed to have even seen it, but Casey very much doubted that. More likely was that she'd found a way off the station, and was plotting some way to take it back. That was what Casey hoped at least, though as months passed with no sign of return, this seemed less and less likely. _

_Cerberus said they had locked down the Adjutants into a few small areas of Omega, and that as long as the citizens stayed within their allocated zones, they would be safe. At first, everyone had been all too happy to comply. _

_Casey wondered how many Adjutants were still around. Was this just a way to keep the people confined? _

_Before long the alien species of Omega (which was the majority), were invited for 'registration'. Many of them disappeared, and others were given further restrictions with regards to where they could go. The extranet had been cut off around the time the first Adjutant had arrived, and so the people of Omega had absolutely no way of sending a message to anyone outside the station. _

_Not that Casey had anyone to contact anyway. _

_Casey and Anaya had begun to seek out others, particularly the non-human races, and invited them to join their cause. They weren't exactly planning to take back Omega, not while their numbers were so low, and Cerberus were so well armed, but they at least wanted to provide sanctuary for those in danger. Casey had told Anaya about Archangel's base. She hadn't been able to go there since she'd returned, the thought of going back to the place where she and Garrus had first made love was far too painful for her. But now it was the only place that she felt they could fortify and protect. They'd begun to recruit others, and soon the base was full to bursting. For those they couldn't house, the group would deliver supplies and news, both of which were highly sought after. _

_It was Casey who'd met Nyreen on one of these scouting runs, and brought her back to the base: something that did not sit well with Anaya, who didn't trust the Talon gang. But Nyreen proved to be a valuable ally, and the two groups traded supplies and people, to ensure that they were both as powerful as possible. _

* * *

"Are you ready?" Anaya asked, standing in the doorway.

Casey nodded. She didn't want to think about the bad stuff today. Today was a celebration: the naming ceremony of baby Rannus. She and Anaya were going to try and find a gift of some kind, while the rest of the group prepared for the party. "Have you had any ideas?" Casey asked.

"Of what to get the baby?" Anaya replied. "Well, he's a Turian, so I was thinking some kind of serrated blade?"

Casey grinned. "I was thinking maybe some clothes? It's not like we have anything here."

Anaya shrugged, "That'll work too I suppose."

The streets of Omega were as quiet as always, and it didn't take long for the two women to find what they were looking for. Unfortunately, a baby store wasn't the type of thing to get looted, and so the doors and windows were firmly bolted shut. Casey wondered for a moment what had happened to the owners, but tried not to dwell on it. It didn't take a genius to figure it out.

"Luckily, you have me," Anaya grinned, and disappeared from sight.

Within moments Anaya had opened the door from the inside, and she and Casey were loading up as many Turian baby clothes as they possibly could. The feeling which was currently washing over Casey was quite surreal, and she couldn't quite place it. Disappointment? Loss? Of something she'd never had? That was ridiculous, she and Garrus had never even talked about having a child, and it's not like they even could anyway. But still, as she picked up a tiny playsuit striped in blue and white, an overwhelming sadness flooded her veins, and she quickly stuffed it into the bag before Anaya noticed anything.

* * *

The journey back to the base was relatively uneventful. In fact, as they walked in silence, their hoods pulled low over their faces, Casey couldn't help but feel strange. Like there was something both she and Anaya were missing. Anaya seemed to sense it too, and she began to quicken her pace. The streets were always quiet these days, but there was still usually something happening, someone around. But now they were completely deserted, even though many of the shops (those of which that were still operating these days), had their doors open as usual. Even the air seemed to feel heavier than usual.

"Something's wrong," Anaya hissed, gesturing for Casey to walk more in the shadow of the building beside them. Casey nodded in agreement.

Soon they were at the bridge, and from the other side Casey could already see that the heavy doors to the base were wide open. She caught Anaya's eye, and the two of them hurried across, waiting on either side of the doorway. They both took their pistols from their holsters, and stepped inside the building.

It had been ransacked. Every piece of furniture had been toppled over or destroyed, and bullet marks pierced the walls. There were a couple of bodies, it seemed that the Talon muscle provided by Nyreen had been killed, but no sign of any of her people. Casey searched the base hurriedly, looking for anyone still alive, any sign of where they had gone. Nothing.

She came back downstairs to find Anaya running her hands over the bullet holes on the walls. Casey watched her kneel down and pick up a thermal clip casing. "Cerberus," she said, holding up the clip, which Casey immediately recognised as a Cerberus mod.

"Where are our people?" Casey asked, and Anaya shrugged hopelessly.

"They're not dead," Anaya suggested, "Cerberus must have taken them."

Casey lowered her head. Was that really any better?

Then Casey heard something, a small sound, barely audible. As if something had fallen over onto something soft. Casey moved around the main room, then she saw it, the wall panel by the back door! When they'd first claimed this base, they'd explored it from top to bottom and found a range of surprises: the hidden arsenal under the floorboards, the perfect sniping post on the roof, and the wall panel that moved aside to reveal a small hidey hole, just big enough for a couple of people.

Casey rushed over, and ripped the panel aside. Crouched in the darkness was Emily, a fifteen year old human girl who had arrived with her family a few weeks ago. She was holding a small bundle in her arms, a moving bundle. It was the baby Turian, Rannus.

"Emily!" Anaya breathed, helping her out of the tiny room. Anaya looked down at Rannus, "Where's Norana?" She asked.

"Where's _everyone_?" Casey added.

A tear streaked down Emily's cheek. "Gone," she spluttered. "Cerberus came, started shooting. They killed the Talon guards and then took everyone else, said they'd kill them, the kids first, if they didn't go. I was watching Rannus because Norana was asleep…I hid."

Emily leaned into Casey, crying onto her shoulder. "It's ok," Casey soothed. "You were right to hide." She took Rannus, who was awake but thankfully not crying. Casey didn't have the first idea how to soothe a crying baby, especially a Turian.

"We need to get out of here," Anaya whispered. "There's no guarantee Cerberus won't come back."

She was right. "We'll go to the Talons." Casey suggested. She could see Anaya's hesitation, but her friend eventually nodded in agreement.

* * *

With Anaya's help, Casey tied a sheet to herself in such a way that the baby would be securely fixed to her back. She needed to have her arms free, who knew what they might find on their way to the base?

Anaya led the way, with Casey and Emily behind. Emily didn't have a weapon, and Casey hadn't wanted to risk giving her one: the girl was far too jumpy, they couldn't risk her shooting one of them by accident.

_Garrus stood behind Casey on the gun range, though keeping a sizeable gap between their bodies, and helped her to line up her shot. She missed again, though only just. She sighed, "I'm not good at this."_

_"Because you're not relaxed," Garrus said. "Take a breath, and try again."_

_She did what she was told, and missed by miles this time._

_"Ok, that was too relaxed."_

_Casey turned around, a smile playing on her lips, "You told me to relax!"_

_"Ok…umm…I'm not making this clear. You need to relax, if you're tense you're putting too much pressure on yourself and you're more likely to miss. But you need to understand the significance of what you're doing…so you can't relax too much."_

_Casey raised an eyebrow. "So relax, but don't relax."_

_Garrus seemed unaware of her sarcasm. "Exactly, now try again!"_

_Casey took a breath, and fired._

_It hit!_

_Unfortunately, it wasn't her target. It was Mordin's. He was four spaces down. However Casey had managed to nail the target right between the eyes. "Excellent shot!" Garrus cried, patting her on the shoulder._

_"Well…not exactly what I was aiming for…"_

_"That doesn't matter."_

_"I'm pretty sure if I'm trying to take out a guy in a crowded room, my aim matters," Casey laughed. Garrus joined in._

_"Ok, let's try something else." He pressed his body against hers, helping her to line up the shot._

"Casey?"

Casey came back to reality, realised that the three of them were standing outside the entrance to the Talon stronghold. How long had they been walking for? Anaya was looking at her searchingly, but Casey didn't offer any explanation. What could she say? _"Sorry I was reminiscing about the time I learned to shoot and completely zoned out of the important thing we're doing." _She didn't exactly picture that going down well. After offering her one more confused look, Anaya entered the code on the door. They'd only used it once, only had to come here once, and despite their alliance, Casey wasn't exactly sure of the welcome they'd get.

* * *

Two Turians were waiting for them on the other side of the door. "We saw you on the cameras," one said. "If the boss hadn't recognised you we'd have blown you off the street."

"Thanks?" Anaya replied sarcastically, walking past them like she owned the place. Casey followed, but felt a hand grasp her shoulders. One of the Turians was looking at Rannus, now fast asleep on her back. "Where's the mother?" He asked.

Anaya was at her side. "We're not going to kill a Turian, take her baby, then walk into the Talon base are we?" Her tone was that of frustration.

"His mother's been kidnapped by Cerberus," Casey replied by way of an explanation, the Turian was holding his gun a little too enthusiastically for Anaya to start baiting him. "We've come to speak to Nyreen."

The Turian looked at Rannus again, then nodded, and Casey, Anaya, and Emily headed up the steps and towards the main room.

Nyreen approached. "Casey, is everything alright?"

"No," Casey replied. "Cerberus hit our base, took our people."

If Nyreen was shocked, Casey couldn't tell. But then Nyreen had always been impossible to read. Casey wondered if it was a Turian thing: she'd lost count of the number of times she'd been left confused by Garrus' reactions.

"What do you need?" Nyreen asked, straight to business as usual.

"For the moment, shelter, just while we think of a plan."

Nyreen nodded.

* * *

"You're sure?" Casey asked.

"Absolutely," Anaya nodded. "I've seen them in and out of that building on my scouting runs, and none of their other bases even come close to it in size. If they're keeping our people anywhere it'll be in there."

Anaya knew the streets of Omega like the back of her hand, no one else's knowledge (excluding perhaps Aria's) even came close. If Anaya thought she knew where the main Cerberus base was, Casey was going to trust her.

"Ok," Casey agreed. "Let's tell Nyreen." She stood up, but Anaya took her by the arm and pulled her back onto the seat opposite her at the table. "No," she said firmly. "No Talons."

"Anaya-" Casey began, exasperated. Anaya's hatred of the gang ran deep, but surely she had to understand that the two of them couldn't do it alone?

"No Casey, you weren't on Omega long before it all went to hell. Sure the Talons have done some good, but you didn't see what they were like before. They're criminals, thugs. They're dangerous."

"They've helped us!" Casey argued, but Anaya shook her head.

"No Case, they've done stuff for us whenever it meant they could get something in return. Now I know Nyreen's got good intentions, as much as she rubs me the wrong way, but her men? We take them into a Cerberus base and it'll be all out war, and our people will be caught right in the middle."

Casey didn't know how to reply. She wanted the muscle of the Talons, but she couldn't fight the feeling that Anaya was right. And there was something more, something in Anaya's eyes that bore into Casey like a drill. Was Anaya hiding something? Did she have more history with this gang than she was letting on? If she did, she wasn't saying anything, and Casey didn't want to press it further, not now at least.

"Ok, say I agreed with you…what's our alternative?"

Anaya seemed to relax a little, seeing that Casey wasn't shooting her down. "We go in just the two of us. We take out a couple of Cerberus guards for their uniforms, go in quietly, get our people out and leave. Just us. These are our people Casey."

Casey sighed. It was a huge risk, but it would be an even bigger one to try and start a war with Cerberus when there were survivors still inside. She nodded her head, unable to fight the feeling that she was once again signing herself up for a suicide mission.


	5. Chapter 5

**Thanks again for the reviews, favourites, and follows, it really makes my day to see them :)**

* * *

Taking out the guards had been much easier than Casey had anticipated, and she tried to convince herself this was a sign that the mission would go exactly as she and Anaya had discussed. Unfortunately, she knew all too well how quickly these things could go sour, and though she tried to shake it, a heavy weight hung on her shoulders.

Anaya had let herself get seen by two guards on patrol, and led them on a chase through the back alleys of Omega, finally coming to a stop in one of the abandoned apartments. Casey had waited inside, and together they quickly took down the guards and slipped into their uniforms. The armour was heavy, and Casey thought longingly of the light armour she had been given for her birthday by the crew of the Normandy, which she had never had the chance to wear. But now wasn't the time to think about that.

Anaya let out a gasp, and Casey followed her gaze. Her friend had been bend down to take the helmets off the guards, and the man whose helmet she had removed had blue lights and wires all over his face.

"What is that?" Anaya asked with disgust.

"No idea," Casey replied truthfully, kneeling to get a better look. The lights jutted messily out of his face, and the wires snaked in and out of his skin. "I mean, they look like some kind of upgrade…but really poorly executed. This is sloppy work, not at all like Cerberus."

"I can't believe you used to work for them."

Casey shook her head. "Neither can I. But they weren't always like this."

Anaya raised an eyebrow, "Are you sure about that?"

Casey couldn't answer.

* * *

The helmet was ridiculously heavy, but Casey tried not to let it show. They were nearing the Cerberus base, and the last thing she needed was to look suspicious.

"Are you ok?" Anaya whispered, just loud enough for Casey to hear. She nodded. "It's just around this corner," Anaya continued. Her voice was different now, something in the helmet made both of them sound exactly the same as all the other Cerberus troops. It was slightly disorientating to not only hear Anaya speak like this, but also to be unable to recognise her own voice.

They rounded the corner, and Casey watched as a couple of Vorcha, who had been rummaging through the nearest garbage can, caught sight of the two of them and quickly scuttled out of sight. Casey couldn't help but feel a little sad. The Vorcha were one of the most violent species on Omega, yet even they fled before Cerberus troops like cockroaches from a boot.

A large building stood in front of them. Casey had never been to this side of town before, but it looked as though the building used to be a factory of some kind. There were a set of steps leading to the large doors, where two Cerberus agents stood guard. Casey tried to pretend her legs didn't feel like jelly as she walked up the steps. She was glad Anaya was with her, she always looked confident, and her stride suggested that she'd been there a thousand times. Casey tried to walk like her.

Anaya nodded at one of the guards at the door, and stepped inside. Casey followed suit, and then she was inside too. Yep, this was a Cerberus building alright. Like all the other Cerberus controlled places, the walls had been painted white, and everything had a clinical, hospital-like feel to it.

So they were inside, now what? Casey glanced at Anaya, whose stance was a little less confident now. She appeared to be trying to get her bearings. "Should we split up?" She asked. Casey shrugged. Sure, they'd cover more ground, but then they'd be even worse off if anything bad happened. Plus how would they even recognise each other when it was time to reunite?

"Let's stay together for now." Casey suggested, and Anaya nodded, beginning to head down the long corridor. Luckily there were only a few Cerberus troops around, and they all seemed to give the two of them a wide berth. Casey wondered how high up the ranks their armour suggested they were.

For the next twenty minutes they explored the base, though there didn't seem to be too much of interest. Most of the rooms on this floor were offices, with the odd interrogation room scattered between, and even those weren't anything to write home about: just a table and a couple of chairs. "This doesn't seem right," Anaya whispered. "This doesn't look like Cerberus."

"I know," Casey agreed. "Our people aren't here."

"Head for the elevator," Anaya nodded at the doors at the end of the hall. The two of them headed over and got inside where, thankfully, they were alone. Casey looked at the buttons, all labelled with different things. "This looks more like it," Anaya said. She was right, the floors had labels like 'prisoner interrogation, experimental technologies, biochemical lab.'

"That one," Casey said, hitting the button labelled 'holding cells.'

* * *

The elevator juddered to a stop and Casey and Anaya stepped out. This corridor, while still painted white, was much darker than the others: the lights at the end of the hall flickered on and off, and the air was much colder than the floors above. "Yep, this feels much more Cerberus-chic" Anaya muttered.

"Come on," Casey pressed, unable to shake the feeling that they were running out of time fast.

They passed a notice board, containing a number of messages, training information, and a few posters. Casey couldn't help but stop in front of one of them, which depicted a number of different species, all standing in a row looking threatening as they stood behind a human woman holding a baby. "Alien means dangerous," Casey read out loud.

"They've managed to make a Salarian look dangerous," Anaya commented, "That's some talent."

Casey continued to read the slogans on the posters. "If in doubt, take a blood sample. Cerberus: protecting humanity from the wolves at the door."

"Their slogans suck," Anaya muttered. Casey nodded in agreement: surely no one fell for this propaganda?

"Come on," she said, tapping Anaya on the arm, and continuing down the corridor. They checked the windows of each cell they passed. So far they had all been empty. Cerberus clearly didn't keep them down here for long. Casey tried not to think about what it must be like to find yourself in one of those small, grimy, dark cells.

_It looked pretty much how Casey had expected: a small room containing a bed, a sink, and a toilet. There was a camera in the corner of the room, and the whole place was dimly lit with a red light. Exhausted, though in reality she hadn't really done much, Casey climbed into bed fully clothed. Garrus stood with his back to the wall, facing her. She looked at him longingly, but then found her eyes drawn again to the camera. _

"_It's the same as the others," Garrus began. "Records visual, but no audio."_

_Casey nodded. "I wish you could sleep next to me." _

Working undercover in Pergatory Prison, pretending to be a serial killer with Garrus as her personal guard. Had that been a high point, or low point of her time on the Normandy? The mission had been a success, but Casey could quite comfortably say she never wanted to be locked up like that again.

Casey was mad at herself, she needed to stop thinking about these things, about past missions. She had to focus on what she was doing.

"Here," Anaya whispered, and Casey hurried over. Anaya was looking through the small window of one of the cells. Casey stood on her tiptoes to get a look. There they were! All of her people, crammed into one small cell together. "Hey!" Casey called.

They looked up, but there were no happy expressions. Casey remembered how different her voice sounded, and that as far as they could tell, a Cerberus officer was looking in at them. She quickly removed her helmet, "It's me!"

Relief seemed to flood over the group like a wave, and suddenly Norana was at the little window. "Casey! Where's Rannus?" She gabbled.

"It's ok, he's safe, he's with the Talons," Casey reassured. "Hang on, we're getting you all out of there."

She turned to Anaya, "Right?" She asked. Anaya, who had also taken off her helmet, was looking at the console on the cell door. She typed something into the console, faster than Casey could recognise, and suddenly the door unlocked. She winked at Casey, "No problem."

The group hurried out of the cell. A few were leaning on others for support, many looked injured, but they were all there. No, wait, there was someone missing. "Where's Patriarch?" Casey asked.

"They took him," Fendris replied, lifting up a Salarian child who seemed too exhausted to walk. "Upstairs, for interrogation."

Casey turned to Anaya, "I need to get him. You get these people out of here."

"How?" Anaya asked.

Casey raised an eyebrow, "You're telling me the great Anaya Tannos doesn't have some great idea?"

Anaya seemed to think for a moment, then smiled. She put her helmet back on. "Ok, I may have something that works. Get Patriarch."

* * *

"_What am I doing?" _Casey thought as she took the elevator up to the interrogation floor. How on earth was she going to free a Krogan warlord from a Cerberus interrogation room without a single person batting an eyelid?

Unfortunately, she didn't have much time to think it over, because within moments she had stepped out of the elevator and had found herself in another long corridor. Her helmet was back on now, so at least she was once again safely anonymous.

She walked along the corridor, looking through each window into the interrogation rooms. The windows must have been one-way mirrors, which reminded Casey fleetingly of the old cop movies she used to watch as a kid. The rooms, like those downstairs, were empty, and Casey shuddered when she thought of where the prisoners had gone: what they may have become.

The corridor was completely empty, and Casey didn't know whether this should reassure her, or make her feel uneasy. Where were Cerberus?

There! There was Patriarch, strapped to a table by heavy metal restraints. He was alone in the room, but looked to be in really bad shape. The door was unlocked, and with a brief look down the empty corridor, Casey slipped inside. Patriarch glanced over lazily as Casey entered. "Oh good, another Cerberus mouse. I don't think that last injection has made me any more…what was the word they used, 'pliable'? So I may need another dose."

"Patriarch!"

Patriarch seemed to really be looking at her now. "Where did you hear that name?"

Casey took off her helmet. "It's me! I've come to rescue you."

Surprisingly, Patriarch didn't exactly look thrilled. "I don't need to be rescued by a human," he replied stiffly.

Casey put her helmet back on, so he didn't see her roll her eyes. _Damn Krogan pride!_

"Nonetheless," she continued gently. "I'd really like to get out of here, so I may as well bring you along." She found the key to his restraints on a nearby table, and soon Patriarch had climbed uneasily to his feet. He swayed slightly, though did not lean on Casey for support. His eyes seemed dimmer than usual, and there was dried blood around his mouth.

"Well, what are we standing around here for?" He asked restlessly. "Let's go!"

* * *

_It can't have been that easy. It can't have been that easy. _

These were the words running through Casey's head as she and Patriarch headed back to the Talon stronghold. There had been no Cerberus troops around when she and Patriarch had left the interrogation room, and so the two of them had practically strolled out of the base.

Cerberus were one of the most formidable forces Casey had ever come across, how had the rescue gone that smoothly?

Her questions were soon answered when they rounded the corner and found the rest of their group. They were standing together, facing a line of at least twenty Cerberus troops, who all had their guns raised. A figure in Cerberus uniform, who Casey assumed was Anaya stood in front of Casey's people, aiming her sniper rifle at the enemy.

"Ah, the last members of your party have finally arrived."

Casey recognised that voice, Petrovsky. Oleg Petrovsky was the leader of this Cerberus faction, a figure she'd only seen on vids before now.

"Drop your weapons," Petrovsky said, "You're hopelessly outnumbered."

"I still like my odds," Anaya muttered. Casey moved to the front of the group to stand beside her friend. Patriarch followed.

"I won't ask you again," Petrovsky pressed.

Casey nodded at Anaya, dropping her gun. Anaya followed suit with an audible sigh.

"Good choice," Petrovsky said coldly. "I'm going to be frank with you. You ladies are in trouble, a lot of trouble. You may as well take off those helmets, I know who you are."

Anaya was the first to remove her helmet, "Thank God, that's the shittiest helmet I've ever worn." She could not, or would not, hide the look of absolute loathing on her face as she looked at Petrovsky. Casey removed her helmet too, if it came to a fight, she would work better without the extra weight anyway.

Petrovsky spoke. "The two of you have been hiding fugitives."

"They're not fugitives!" Anaya interrupted, but Petrovsky continued regardless.

"Anyone who does not submit to registration is a fugitive, and those humans who live beside them are fugitives as well." He paused. "But that is not why I'm here. Casey Morrigan, you recently…paid a visit, to one of our recruitment centres." He must have noticed the confusion on her face, because he then said, "Don't be so surprised, we know everyone who breathes the Omega air, we had you clocked the second you walked in. You were very helpful in our element zero experiments, but then you left. We'd like it very much if you came back with us."

"No fucking way!" Anaya growled. Petrovsky glanced at her, but made no response to her outburst. Instead he looked at Casey. "Miss Morrigan, you can come with us, continue to help us… It seems we may have more use for you than we anticipated, especially after…recent events." For a moment, Casey was sure she heard a note of fear in his voice, but it was gone as quickly as it appeared. "Come with us, or we can shoot your people one by one. It's your choice."

Casey looked at her group. She didn't even need to think about it, she would not be responsible for their deaths. She began to make her way over to the Cerberus forces.

"Good choice-" Petrovsky began, but before he had finished he was knocked off his feet. Anaya had thrown a biotic field towards the troops.

"Kill them!" Petrovsky cried, and the Cerberus forces began to fire. The biotic members of Casey's group quickly formed some shields, while Casey and Anaya grabbed their guns from the floor and fired back. Patriarch charged the oncoming troops, and soon had a gun of his own. It seemed his captivity had done nothing to lessen his ferocity.

Anaya stood at one side of the group, Casey at the other. Casey's first shot hit a Cerberus troop in the chest, knocking him to the ground. The second shot went straight through the helmet of the next one. Anaya threw a singularity at five soldiers who were running for Casey.

"Kill the Asari!" Petrovsky yelled. It was as if time had slowed down. All Cerberus troops began shooting at Anaya, who dropped her gun to hold a biotic shield around herself. But something got through, because within moments she was on the ground.

"No!" Casey cried out, running to Anaya. Her friend's eyes were closed. Casey felt herself burning up, boiling over with rage. She turned to face the Cerberus troops and screamed, louder than she'd ever screamed before. And then she felt this enormous sense of release, as a huge biotic field, more powerful than anything she'd ever seen, left her body and threw every single Cerberus troop back fifty feet.

Now she was faint, and everything was black.

* * *

"Casey?"

Casey opened her eyes. She felt exhausted, drained, like she was hung over. Everything was blurry, but soon the familiar face came into focus.

"Anaya?"

Anaya smiled, she was lying beside Casey in Casey's bed at the base.

"I thought you died," Casey breathed.

"Pfft, are you kidding me? No way I'd let Cerberus kill me, that's just insulting."

Casey smiled, Anaya sounded almost normal, though her voice was a little strained. "Are you ok?" Casey asked. Anaya nodded, "Concussive round, really I'm fine."

"Are we safe here?"

"For now, we've got extra Talon muscle, and we're going to move once everything's been packed up. Fendris is keeping an eye on Cerberus comms, no sign that they're coming back here. Not yet at least. They retreated pretty quick after you passed out…at least, the ones who could still walk did." Anaya could barely hide the pride in her voice.

"What happened to me?" Casey asked, reaching for the glass of water beside her. Anaya smiled, "From what I heard you threw the biggest biotic field anyone in our group has ever seen. I can't believe I missed it! How do you feel?"

Casey thought for a moment, "Like I've been hit by a truck."

Anaya nodded, "It's like that at the start, and probably worse because of whatever Cerberus pumped into you. But you're fine."

Casey nodded, then another thought came to her. "Why did you throw Petrovsky?"

Anaya raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that obvious? I didn't want them to take you."

"Yeah, but, they might've killed you, all of you."

Anaya didn't say anything for a long time. When she finally spoke her voice was soft and quiet, like she wasn't even sure she wanted to say the words. "I didn't care. I just…I didn't want them to take you."

Something dawned on Casey, something she had been oblivious to all this time. Anaya reached out and touched her face, stroking the cheek gently. "I don't know what I'd do without you Case…"

And then in a movement that was so swift and so delicate, her lips were on Casey's. She pulled her closer, locking her arms around Casey's back, and for a moment Casey was lost. She cared about Anaya, loved her in a way…but it wasn't meant to be like this.

She gently but firmly pushed her away. Her friend's face told her that she had been half expecting this, but she still asked, "Why?"

"You know why," Casey whispered.

Anaya looked at the floor. "Yes…Garrus." Casey's stomach knotted at the mention of his name. "But Casey…he thinks you're dead. He's not here. I'm here."

"Ana I do care about you-"

"I've lost people too Casey." Anaya sounded almost angry, but her voice was still quiet. "People I loved. I want things to be the way they were, but they can't be." Her voice softened again. "I'd rather be happy with you, than on my own. Don't you want to be happy? Don't you want to stop thinking about what you had and think about what you could have? I might not be everything that you want, but I can look after you. I can make you happy."

Casey didn't know what to say, it was all too much to take in. Five minutes ago she'd been talking to her best friend, and now she was having to choose between Garrus, the man she loved, who she would probably never see again. Or Anaya, her best friend, who was kind, funny, and beautiful, and who had proved a hundred times that she would lay down her life to keep Casey safe.

"Anaya-"

The door opened and suddenly Fendris was running over, wearing an expression Casey couldn't read. "He's here!" Fendris cried.

"Who?" Casey asked, watching Anaya stealthily wipe a tear from her eye.

"Commander Shepard! He's here on Omega!"


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry for such a long delay, moving house and work have had me ridiculously busy! Hope you enjoy the chapter, as always, thank you so much for the follows, favourites, and reviews :)**

* * *

"What?" Casey couldn't breathe, surely she'd misheard? Commander Shepard? Here?

Casey looked at Anaya whose expression was almost unreadable. There was shock there, but something else. She glanced at Fendris and asked steadily, "How do you know this?"

"Everyone's talking about it! And it's all over Cerberus communications!" Fendris gabbled. "He's come to free Omega, to take down Cerberus, can you believe it?"

Casey stood up, moving towards Fendris so quickly he recoiled as if she were about to hit him. "Who is he with? Did anyone come with him?"

The Salarian looked grinned. "That's the best part, he came with Aria."

"Aria?" Anaya couldn't hide her surprise. "I thought she was dead?" She asked, composing herself.

"Yeah right, you didn't believe that, did you?" Fendris asked.

Casey shook her head, "No way Aria would go down without a fight, I knew she'd come back!" But she had to admit, she had been seriously doubting this recently. But Aria was alive, and she was here with Shepard! Casey picked up her back pack and hurried around, throwing things into it.

"You're going?" Anaya asked, her voice flat.

Casey barely slowed down. "I have to find Shepard."

"And what, fly off and leave us?" Anaya sounded angry now, and it stopped Casey in her tracks. She turned to face her friend. The woman who had been declaring her feelings for her not five minutes before was now looking at Casey with an expression she had never seen. "No," Casey replied calmly, putting her bag down. "Shepard will help us, he might be the only one who can, and if there's any way I can help him do that, I will."

Anaya made no response, and Casey picked up her bag and slung it over her shoulder. She slid her gun into its holster on her leg, nodding to Fendris as she left the room.

Out on the bridge Casey noticed she had an extra shadow. "I didn't think you'd come," she said.

"And miss a fight? Come on." Anaya's voice had regained its sarcastic tone, and Casey couldn't help but feel reassured. "How do we find Shepard?" Anaya asked.

As if on cue an explosion rang out, which seemed to shake the whole station. Casey felt a smile play on her lips as she turned to her friend. "We follow the destruction."

* * *

Casey and Anaya tracked Shepard through the station, always seeming to arrive too late. They found hordes of dead Cerberus troops on the streets, and five dead Adjutants when they risked a trip into the mines, but as yet, no Shepard. They had been stopped in their tracks when Aria T'Loak came onto the station's network, urging the people of Omega to come out of their homes and fight the Cerberus forces, something Casey worried was a very bad decision.

"These people aren't soldiers," she muttered to Anaya, as they watched Aria's face on screen.

"They're from Omega." Anaya replied, shrugging slightly.

"So am I," Casey pressed. "And before I found Shepard I couldn't even hold a gun. Aria's sending these people to their death."

"I don't think you give Aria enough credit, she has powers over these people: they'll follow her into Hell itself. Maybe that's what it will take?"

Casey didn't reply, she had noticed something behind Aria in her broadcast. "That's the Talon base!" She cried. "They're with the Talons!"

Anaya looked more closely at the screen, and had a few moments to study the picture before the broadcast ended. She turned to Casey and nodded, "Let's go."

* * *

Casey and Anaya moved quickly and quietly through the underground tunnels they had so often used on their smuggling runs. The noises above them were very different to what they had been for the past few months: now there was gunfire, explosions, people shouting. One way or the other, Omega would be changed after today.

Anaya, who had been silent for the majority of the journey, spoke up. "What makes you think Shepard is here for us?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, he used to work for Cerberus. Maybe he's here to help them?"

Casey shook her head. "You know he renounced all ties with them."

Anaya shrugged, "Things change."

"Not Shepard. If he knows what Cerberus have been doing, there's no way he'd do nothing. He's a good man, he's here to help the people."

"No one does anything for nothing," Anaya said sceptically.

"Shepard does."

Anaya looked like she might be about to say something else, but remained quiet.

"Trust me," Casey continued. "Things are about to get a lot better."

Several more minutes passed as the women made their way towards the base. Then Anaya spoke again.

"Do you think Shepard will want you back in the squad?"

Casey thought for a moment, "I hope so."

"Why would he?"

Anaya must have seen the look on Casey's face, because she quickly continued. "Sorry Case, that came out wrong! I just mean, from what you told me, Shepard recruits these…these…legends for his team. Don't get me wrong, you're really good…but-"

Casey nodded, "I know what you mean. I'm nothing compared to them. But that's Shepard, he's loyal, and he cares about people. I think he'd take me back."

"Why would you want to go back? From what you told me, you were pretty much dodging death every second you were there."

"Is it that much different here?" Casey asked, and Anaya smiled.

"I suppose not."

Casey continued, "I don't know what it is, but there's something about Shepard. He's a great leader, and he is really doing some good in the galaxy. If there's any way I can help him, any way I can be useful, I'll go." And she meant it, but of course, that wasn't the only reason.

_And Garrus, _she thought. _Shepard is the only person who can help me find Garrus. _

"I'll miss you," Anaya replied in a voice Casey suspected she was working very hard to make light.

"What are you talking about?" Casey asked. "You're coming too."

Anaya didn't reply, but Casey was sure she noticed a smile twitch on her friend's lips.

* * *

Soon they arrived at the Talon base, where there was no need to type in the code on the door, because Talon troops were streaming in and out, carrying weapons or their wounded. The whole place was chaos, but the story was the same: they had missed Shepard again.

"But he was definitely here?" Casey asked one of the Turians, who was hurriedly modding ammo and throwing it to troops as they passed.

He nodded, "Yep, would recognise that guy anywhere. 'Saviour of the Citadel' an' all that." He swore loudly as the ammo casing he was working on cracked, and threw it in the trash.

"Was he alone? Apart from Aria I mean," Casey asked, allowing her hopes to raise just a little. But they were quickly dashed when the Turian nodded. "Just him and Aria. Well, they've got Nyreen with them now."

"Must be fun," Anaya muttered.

"Where were they going?" Casey pressed.

The Turian, who had been shooting angry looks at Anaya, turned back to Casey. "Afterlife. It's where Petrovsky's holed up."

Casey turned to leave, but the Turian took her shoulder. "Wait, take these." He gestured to some armour on the table behind him. "If you're going to help Nyreen, you should have some protection. They're not much, but better than those cloaks." Casey thanked him, and she and Anaya quickly slipped into the armour. It wasn't exactly a perfect fit, but Casey felt a little safer than she had five minutes before.

Once the armour was on, Casey and Anaya headed for the exit.

"This might be it," Casey said, checking her gun. "Are you ready?"

Anaya shot Casey her trademark grin as she caught one of the modded rounds that the Turian was throwing to one of the troops. "The question should be, is Petrovsky?"

* * *

Anaya and Casey used one of their smuggling tunnels, and before long they were outside the club. The scene that they were faced with as they rounded the corner was one Casey would not forget in a hurry. A group of men were shooting at the Cerberus forces guarding the door to Afterlife, unaware that three Adjutants were steadily making their way towards them.

Casey made to run out, but Anaya pulled her back. "They'll kill you!" She hissed.

The Cerberus soldiers had noticed the Adjutants now, and they retreated into the club, sealing the doors behind them. Now it was just the men and the creatures. "We have to help them!" Casey cried, turning to find Anaya already rummaging in her bag. She pulled out some grenades, handing two to Casey.

Casey turned back to the men, already one was dead. But now there was someone else.

"Nyreen!" Casey breathed, and even Anaya looked relieved. If Nyreen was here, Shepard and Aria wouldn't be far behind, and between them they would be able to take down the creatures.

But Shepard and Aria weren't there. It was just Nyreen. She fired at the Adjutants, killing one within moments. But now the other two were closing on her, and her weapon looked like it had jammed. Casey and Anaya moved as one out of their cover and towards Nyreen. The Turian saw them approach, and suddenly created a biotic field around herself and the Adjutants. She looked away now, back towards the door she came through, and seemed to be saying something. Casey only noticed the grenade at her feet a second or two before it detonated.

There was a bright white light, and for a moment Casey couldn't see anything. A loud ringing sounded through her head, and she grabbed her ears instinctively. The biotic field had shielded them from the blast, but not the noise.

Finally the smoke cleared, and there was no trace of Nyreen Kandros, or the two Adjutants she had taken with her. The dust settled, and Casey caught sight of two figures in the distance. One of them, who looked like an Asari, screamed in rage: a scream Casey recognised all too well.

Aria ran towards Afterlife, smashing the doors open and hurling aside any Cerberus troops who stood in her way. The second figure was close behind, and Casey was sure that was Shepard. She turned to Anaya, who was still staring at the dust where Nyreen had just stood. "Come on!" She cried, grabbing Anaya's hand, not wanting to think about Nyreen right now, and dragging her friend towards Afterlife.

* * *

They were only seconds behind Shepard and Aria, yet the scene of destruction they met was remarkable. Everywhere, Cerberus troops lay groaning or dead on the floor. Some, literally ripped in half. Anaya and Casey ran along the long corridor that used to have fire projected on the walls, but was now dark and blank.

It seemed that Aria had not been quite as successful as she thought, because Casey and Anaya found her inside the club, held up in the middle of the room by what looked like biotic ropes. She was yelling at Petrovsky, and Casey could just make out Shepard in the distance, who appeared to be typing something in to a console.

"Casey!" Anaya called out, grabbing her friend quickly out of reach of an approaching Adjutant. At once the two of them grabbed their guns and took the creature down. Casey looked around, there must have been at least six more in the room, and now Cerberus troop were arriving. She nodded at Anaya, and the two of them split up.

Casey shot a troop in the leg, flooring him, and then delivered a shot into the head. She spun just in time to dodge another one, quickly firing a shot to the chest. She could see Shepard only twenty feet away, and as she knocked the final troop who approached her to the ground, and pushed her knife into his neck, she actually felt hopeful for the first time in months.

But Shepard was typing into the console, and couldn't see the two Cerberus troops (a sniper and a foot soldier) and one Adjutant closing in. Casey kicked out at another troop who had tried to grab her, and ran for the commander. "Shepard!" She yelled. The sniper was lining up her shot, and without thinking how she was even doing it, Casey threw a singularity at the approaching enemies.

The three of them were thrown halfway across the room, landing in a pile. Shepard turned to see who had called his name and froze. Casey saw the look of utter confusion on his face. "C-Casey?" He asked, moving closer.

"Yeah?" She replied, then remembered that as far as Shepard was concerned, he had seen her ground up into mulch at the Collector base.

"Is that really you?" He asked, looking like he wanted to reach out and touch her.

Casey nodded. "It's kind of a long story."

"You're speaking to the one person who really understands that."

Casey smiled.

Shepard raised his gun, and fired a single shot over Casey's shoulder. She turned, just in time to see another Adjutant fall. "Perhaps we should catch up later?" She suggested.

"Good idea," Shepard replied, returning to the console. "I think this should do it." He pushed a final button, and Casey watched as Aria's restraints disappeared and she fell to the floor. The Asari let out a little laugh. "I'm back you fuckers!" She cried, throwing troops and Adjutants around as if they weighed nothing.

* * *

It took a while, and Casey was tired, sweaty, and almost out of ammo, but finally the entire enemy presence in the room had been wiped out, and it was only Petrovsky left. Aria hammered on his door, Shepard close behind, but Casey was worried. Why hadn't Anaya come over? Where was she?

Her question was soon answered when she began to search the room. Her friend was lying on the floor, a large gunshot wound through her chest.

"Oh God!" Casey choked, running over and hurrying to apply some medi-gel. Anaya's eyes fluttered open, but the bleeding in her chest barely slowed.

"Anaya," Casey sobbed.

"Sorry," Anaya replied weakly. "Damn Cerberus are dirty fighters…never saw this coming…"

"You're going to be alright," Casey promised, but even she didn't believe her own voice.

"Course I am." Anaya coughed. There was blood on her lips now too.

"I'm sorry," Casey whispered, a tear sliding down her cheek.

Her friend looked confused. "For what?"

Casey had to say this now, before it was too late. "For pushing you away. For not…for not being what you wanted. I'm sorry."

Understanding seemed to dawn on Anaya's face, and she gave Casey a weak smile. "Casey, you're exactly what I wanted. That's the problem." She laughed, though it turned into a cough. "You're my best friend, and you never have to be sorry for that."

Casey realised the two of them were no longer alone, and turned to find Shepard behind them. He leaned down, gently pushing Casey aside and applied more medi-gel. Casey saw Anaya begin to brighten immediately. _Thank God for Doctor Chakwas! _Casey thought. The Doctor had upgraded the medi-gel of the Normandy crew years ago.

"Fuck, what's happened?!" Casey saw Aria arrive, and kneel immediately beside Anaya, grabbing her hands. "Ana?" She asked worriedly.

"I'm fine," Anaya replied. "I feel much better."

"Really?" Casey asked, relieve flooding her veins. Her friend nodded.

"Is Omega secure?" Anaya asked. Shepard and Aria nodded.

"We've secured Petrovsky, he's going to trial," Shepard said.

"You let him live?" Anaya asked Aria sceptically.

Aria smiled. "Perhaps I have learned something from Mr Mercy here." She nodded at Shepard who smiled. Then he turned to Casey. "Casey, I know now is probably not the best time, but there's still a place for you on the Normandy. If you want it, that is."

Casey had imagined this moment a thousand times: Shepard coming to rescue her from Omega, to take her back to her real home on the Normandy. Yet in all those imaginings, she had never thought she'd be so conflicted. She looked down at Anaya, her friend, with whom she had made a pact to clean up Omega. Could she just go? But then there was Garrus. Staying here meant the almost certain fact that she would never see him again. But what if he had forgotten her?

"Go."

Casey looked back at Anaya. "What?"

"Go," Anaya said with a smile. "You know you have to. I'll be fine here."

"You're staying?"

Anaya nodded. "I need to stay here, I can help these people Casey, but you can do more good with Shepard, we both know that, especially now." She was referring to Casey's new biotic powers, the ones she still had no idea how to control.

"I thought you wanted to go back to Thessia," Casey began, somewhat aware she seemed to be stalling for time. "To see your family."

Anaya sighed, "I don't need to go to Thessia."

Casey was suddenly even more aware of the fact that Aria had not yet released Anaya's hands. Anaya followed her gaze, but said nothing. It was finally Aria who spoke. "Anaya is my daughter, Casey."

Casey realised her mouth must have been hanging open, but one glance told her that Shepard's was too, so at least she wasn't the only one who'd been surprised.

"Her mother knew she'd come and find me once she found out who her father was. I promised I'd keep an eye on her," Aria continued. "Anything to keep that ghastly woman off my back, honestly that's one night I'd rather forget."

"Hey!" Anaya interrupted. "She is my mother."

Aria rolled her eyes but said nothing.

"I'll be fine," Anaya insisted. "Aria will look after me, and we can help Omega-"

"Just, let's not change it too much," Aria interrupted.

Now it was Anaya's turn to roll her eyes, and Casey was struck by how alike she and Aria really were, and kicked herself for not noticing it sooner.

"Honestly Casey, go, we'll be fine." Anaya insisted, as Aria helped her to her feet. "Now if you don't mind, I could do with a drink."

"That's my girl," said Aria proudly.

Casey threw her arms around her friend as gently as she could. "I _do _love you, you know," she whispered. And she meant it, just not in the way Anaya had wanted before.

"I know," said Anaya, squeezing her tight. "Good luck."

"Shepard," Aria called as Casey and the Commander turned to leave. "I meant what I said, my troops are yours for your war."

Shepard nodded and he and Casey headed for the docks. "What war?" Casey asked.

Shepard sighed, "Casey, there's a lot we need to catch you up on."

Soon they were at the airlock, and with one final look back, Casey left Omega for the last time.


	7. Chapter 7

Humanity was at war with the Reapers. Casey hadn't quite believed it when Shepard had told her, and even after watching the hours of vids showing the Reaper assault on Earth, it still hadn't truly sunk in. Of course she'd known about the Reapers: she'd spent so long with Shepard trying to convince people of their existence: trying to find ways to delay their arrival. Yet, in some small part of her brain she had been unable to comprehend their true danger, been unable to really see a time when they would arrive.

The team had been disbanded when Shepard was arrested, and now she barely recognised the faces on board the Normandy. Thankfully, though the ship had been given some major upgrades, it was still the same old Normandy, and as she now sat on the bed she had slept in so long ago, the Reaper invasion felt a million miles from her mind.

She'd gotten lucky, her old room had not been changed much (other than her personal effects being removed, she knew it was pointless to ask where), and was still unoccupied when Shepard bought her aboard. It was strange though, being back here when so many of the crew were unaccounted for. She hadn't been told officially yet who was on board, but when she had entered the Normandy several hours ago, she had not seen anyone else she knew, other than Joker. His reaction to her arrival was as she had expected from him: stunned silence followed by a joke. The big surprise had been EDI, who now had control over a mech body. Of course, this body was unlike any mech Casey had ever seen before, and she could understand why Joker was so adamant that EDI sit beside him in the cockpit.

Casey sighed, laying her head on her pillow. It was the same room, the same ship, but everything was different. As they sped away from Omega, the confidence Casey had been building for so long seemed to slip away, and she wondered how on Earth she could be of any help to Shepard. Had he just picked her up out of some old loyalty? What could she possibly do for him?

And then there was Garrus. Casey had got the idea into her head that she would be reunited with him the moment she found Shepard again, but of course, that was untrue. The fact that he had not found her the moment she boarded was her first clue, but this was confirmed when she went to leave the cockpit, and EDI asked for a moment of her time. The AI took her to one side, out of Joker's hearing, and told her the words she least wanted to hear.

"Garrus Vakarian is not on-board the Normandy."

Casey was silent for a moment, before asking "Why are you telling me?"

"I was under the impression that you and Garrus were engaged in some kind of sexual relationship."

Casey cringed, leave it to an AI to make everything clinical. "Well, it was a bit more than that EDI…"

EDI seemed to process this for a few moments, then apologised. "I'm sorry, I did not mean to cause offence, I am not programmed for subtlety."

"That's ok," Casey replied.

"In any case, I thought you would wish to know of his absence."

Casey had nodded, unwilling to hear any more, and left for her room.

_I should have asked if she knew where he was,_ Casey thought angrily. Not that it would do much good, wherever Garrus was, he was probably doing something worthwhile, and she couldn't just take off and look for him. She owed Shepard, and she had to do whatever she could to help him. Besides, Earth was where she was born: where she had grown up. She would not let it fall to the Reapers.

* * *

There was a knock on her bedroom door, and Casey, who had been so accustomed to Anaya and others at the base just bursting in of their own accord, was unsure for a moment what that sound meant. She shook her head, annoyed at herself, before finally calling "Come in."

Samantha Traynor stood in the doorway, and a rush of warmth spread through Casey. She and Samantha had been close friends, they had been captured by the Collectors together, and calmed each other in the Collector base. Seeing Sam was like seeing a long lost sister, and Casey quickly got to her feet and threw her arms around her friend.

"Sam!" She breathed.

"I thought you were dead," Samantha whispered, sounding as though she was crying. Casey pulled away, and her friend did in fact have tears running down her cheeks. "What's wrong?" Casey asked.

"I'm so sorry Casey!" Samantha blurted out.

Casey was beyond confused, wondering for a moment what Sam possibly could have done to warrant an apology like this.

"It's my fault, you would never have been taken by the Collectors if it wasn't for me!"

Casey pulled her friend close again, and said calmly, "None of what happened was your fault. I don't blame you for anything."

Traynor seemed to physically relax at those words, and wiped her hands hurriedly across her eyes. "Thank you. When I heard you were on board, I was so happy…but I thought you'd hate me."

Casey shook her head, gesturing for Sam to sit down on the bed. "No. But there is one thing I want you to do for me."

"Name it," Sam said eagerly.

"Tell me everything that's happened since I've been gone."

* * *

Sam and Casey talked for hours. Sam went into more detail about the disbanding of the crew, Shepard's arrest, and the Reaper war than Shepard had, and Casey began to feel like the blank spaces in her head were getting filled in. Eventually, Sam got to Garrus.

"I don't know where he is," she said after a long pause. "I help Shepard and the others as much as I can, but I'm not exactly close with them, not any more. It's been a long time since we were all throwing parties and fighting collectors. Things have changed a bit..." She trailed off, clearly seeing the way Casey's shoulders had dropped on hearing that she knew nothing of Garrus' whereabouts. "I'm sorry I can't be more help."

"It's ok," Casey replied. "I can't pretend I wasn't expecting it."

"I'll keep digging for you," Sam suggested. "See what I can find on what he did after Shepard's arrest."

Casey nodded, "Thanks Sam." She knew it would be unlikely that Traynor would turn up anything new. To be honest, what would she do if she found out where he was? Just leave the Normandy and go searching for him, in the middle of a war? She should stop wasting her time trying to find Garrus and focus on the task at hand, helping Shepard destroy the Reapers.

And yet as Sam left Casey's room, she couldn't help but save a little bit of hope that she would find something new.

* * *

Casey had been in her room for hours, and was beginning to go stir crazy. Both EDI and Doctor Chakwas (who never seemed to be surprised by anything, and took Casey's continued existence in her stride) had recommended a few days rest after the fighting on Omega, and the shock of finding Shepard. However Casey found it almost unbearable to be back on the Normandy, the one place she had considered to be her home, yet confined to her room.

She took a breath and headed out, towards the place that had been looming over her, haunting her, since she arrived. She had to go there, get it out of the way, otherwise she would never settle back into her routine. She'd constantly have the image of him being there, waiting for her.

Casey entered the gun battery. Of course it was empty, she knew it would be empty, but she was still disappointed, as if some part of her had been expecting him to be standing there at the console with his back to the door, calibrating something or another.

She walked around the large room, which seemed somehow colder than it used to be, and found herself at the little door at the back. This lead to a small room where Garrus had slept. She opened the door gently and flicked on the light switch. The room wasn't much different. Garrus had never been one for clutter or bric a brac, and so the now cleared out room looked pretty much the same as it always had. There was a small bed in the corner, a closet, and a desk. The bed was neatly made, however it was clear that no one had lived here since Garrus had gone. There was a large window over the desk, and Casey stared out into the vast nothingness. She was back home, surrounded by many of the people she cared about, so why did she feel more alone than ever?

"_What are you thinking about?"_

_Casey turned around, pulling the blanket tighter around her naked body. It was always cold in Garrus' room, especially by the window. Garrus was awake now, laying on his side in his bed and watching her. She smiled, "Nothing."_

"_I don't believe that for a second," Garrus replied. _

"_No really, nothing. I was thinking about the view from this window, about the complete emptiness out there. About how, really, we're all just tiny specks in the universe."_

_Garrus paused for a moment, then smiled. "It's a little too early in the morning for that kind of thinking, I'm still half asleep."_

"_Then what are you thinking about?"_

_Garrus looked her up and down, still making no attempt to get out of bed. "I was wondering why you pulled that blanket tighter when you realised I was awake. You're aware that I've seen you naked before?"_

_Casey felt her cheeks redden. "It's cold in here."_

"_That's not the only time you've done it. You always seem to cover yourself up when you think I'm looking."_

_Casey raised an eyebrow. "Always?" She was referring to last night, when Garrus had ravished her naked body over the console next door. He had explored every inch of her with his mouth, leaving her so weak that he'd had to carry her to his bed to finish the job. _

_Garrus grinned again. "No, that's true. When we're doing that kind of thing it's different. But when it's like it is now, you're always…well…shy."_

_Casey felt nervous now, she'd been vaguely aware of this reluctance on her part for Garrus to see her naked. It was different when they had sex, she was so driven by desire that none of her insecurities entered her mind. But the rest of the time she was very conscious of her own body._

"_I just…" Casey began, unsure how to explain it. "I've always been a little insecure about my body, I guess most women are. But with you…" _

_Garrus waited patiently. She sighed, he clearly wasn't going to let this drop. "I just think I must look so…so…alien."_

_She waited, how would Garrus react to this?_

_His response wasn't exactly what she expected. He let out a little laugh. "Casey, we've talked about this before, when are you going to get it into your head that I'm attracted to you?"_

_Casey continued to blush. "I know, it's just…am I the first member of another species that you've been with?" _

"_Do you really want to know?" Garrus asked. Casey wasn't sure. Finding out she was one of many wouldn't exactly be a dream come true, but to know she was the only one wouldn't really help her insecurity about how different she was either. She shrugged. _

"_Yes, before you I had only been with Turian women."_

_The relief Casey felt demonstrated that this was the answer she wanted, though she still felt a little awkward standing there in her blanket. Garrus continued. "I spent most of my life on Palaven, and when I moved to the Citadel I didn't date at all. I was too focused on my work."_

"_Is it really different? Being with me I mean?" _

"_Take off the blanket." Garrus said. _

_Casey smiled, but kept hold of the material. Garrus got out of bed. The sheet which had been covering him from the waist down slipped off, and he stood in front of her completely naked. She held his gaze, as difficult as it was. She had never found a man quite as arousing as Garrus. _

"_Is it different being with me?" Garrus asked, throwing her question back to her. _

_Casey nodded, "Yes," she said truthfully. "But in a good way. It's so much better."_

"_Do I look alien to you?" He pressed._

_Casey looked at Garrus' body. She shook her head. "No. You're Garrus."_

_Garrus smiled, moving closer and pulling the blanket off of her. She didn't cover her body. "And you're Casey," he said. "My Casey. You could never look alien to me." _

_He pulled her close against him, and at that moment Casey realised that they were all so much more than specks in the universe. _

* * *

"Casey?"

Casey spun around. He was still on the Normandy!

Not Garrus, no, but someone else who she loved, albeit in a different way.

"James!" She grinned, throwing her arms around his neck. James Vega held her tightly, and she could feel his heart racing in his chest. "Jesus Case, we thought you were dead."

"I know."

"I can't believe you're here!" He pulled away, looking at her face intently, as if trying to memorise the features. She remembered that night, so long ago, when she, in a fit of anger against Garrus (who she thought had no interest in her), had slept with James. Neither of them had been looking to start a relationship, both simply seeking closeness with another person. James had become one of her best friends, and seeing him here, she finally felt like she was starting to get her life back.

She and James sat on Garrus' bed and talked for hours about everything and nothing, though for a long time neither of them broached the topic of Garrus. Casey assumed that James thought it would be too painful for her, and she was unwilling to bring up something she was sure would cause her nothing but heartache.

Eventually, after she had found out that James had stayed with Shepard on Earth during the Commander's incarceration, she finally asked: "So, you haven't heard from Garrus?"

James shook his head. "Not recently, not since everything went to hell with the Reapers and Earth."

"You'd heard from him before that?" Casey asked, her heart beating a little faster.

"Sure," James continued. "He'd wanted an update on Shepard as often as I could send it. We spoke on the phone every now and then, but it was mostly messaging."

"How was he?" She asked quietly.

James took a while to reply. "Ah….well, he was fine."

"I don't believe you," Casey said.

James sighed, "He took what happened to you pretty hard. He wouldn't talk about you, not to anyone. Wouldn't let anyone do anything for him. He was still there for Shepard, for all of us. He knew how important our mission was. But…he wasn't the same."

Casey felt her eyes water, to hear how hard Garrus had taken her 'death' was too difficult. But she had to keep going. "Where did he go?" She asked.

"Palaven. As far as I know, he was there when the Reapers hit Earth." James broke off, though he looked as though he had been about to say something else.

"What? What is it?" Casey pressed.

James didn't look at her right away, but finally spoke. "Palaven has been attacked too. Things are pretty bad down there. I know Shepard has been trying to raise Garrus, but…well…there's been no luck so far."

Casey's stomach dropped, but she merely nodded. "I think I need to be alone," she said. James looked as though he wanted to protest, but he stepped aside so she could leave the room.

* * *

Casey spent the next few days in her cabin. She wasn't sure why the news had hit her so hard. She'd half expected Garrus to return to Palaven, and she'd known that it wouldn't take long for the Reapers to go after the Turian homeworld. Yet she'd been so unwilling to put these two thoughts together that they had not yet entered her mind. Not until it was spelled out for her.

There was a knock at her door, and Casey rolled over in her bed. She wanted to ignore it, to stay curled up under her bed sheets until Shepard found some way to win the war and she could scurry back to Omega and live under a rock. But if she was on the Normandy she would have to help in some way, and so she dragged herself out of bed and to the door. Standing outside was James.

"Morning sweetheart," he said gently, carrying a large chest into Casey's room.

"What's that?" She asked.

"Your gear," he replied. Casey opened the box, inside was a brand new set of armour, and a gun.

She looked up at James. "Where are we going?"

"Menae, we need to extract a Turian Primark for Shepard's war summit."

"Turian? Where is Menae?" Casey's heart began to hammer, she felt like she probably already knew the answer.

James nodded. "Menae is the largest moon of Palaven."


	8. Chapter 8

**Thank you so much to everyone who has read, reviewed, or followed this story! It's fantastic to know I'm not the only one who enjoys it :)**

**I would also like to thank you for your patience, I know this chapter has been a long time coming! I'm a sucker for delayed gratification, and I thought it was important for us to miss Garrus a bit, so that we felt the same sense of anxiety that Casey will feel when she finally finds him! Anyway, enough from me, I really hope you enjoy the story, it's going to be a long one, and I'm planning to take Casey and Garrus through a bit of a journey. **

* * *

It didn't take long for the Normandy to arrive in Turian space, and using the ship's stealth systems they could slip past the Reaper forces and onto Menae without drawing any unwanted attention. After a short shuttle ride, Casey, James, and Shepard arrived at Menae.

Casey had only been introduced a couple of minutes before they left, to Shepard's girlfriend Liara, who had apparently been on board since Casey arrived. Liara hadn't been able to join them on Menae, but she provided constant updates via the transmitters in their suits. Whether she knew her or not, Casey felt reassured to hear a comforting voice in her ear.

"Make sure you wear that," James said, gesturing to the helmet Casey held in her hand.

"Why?" Casey asked. She didn't remember ever having to wear a helmet on a breathable world before on any of Shepard's missions.

"Air's thinner here," James replied, putting his own helmet on. "Helmet'll make it more bearable. Besides, Turian's are at war too, probably better if they don't see too many members of other species strolling around on their moon. Everything about this place is classified."

Casey nodded, settling the helmet onto her head. Luckily, it being made for high level alliance soldiers, it was lightweight, and she had no problem turning her head at all. She noticed that Shepard wasn't wearing one, but that wasn't surprising. He was as tough as nails, a little thing like the air being thinner wasn't going to stop him. But apparently that wasn't the only reason, as James turned to explain.

"They need to see his face. Turian's don't generally give a crap about what humans think. But Shepard is different. They respect him…mostly. If they see him here, they'll know it's for something important: something that can help them."

That made sense. Indeed, as the three of them approached the base camp, several Turian soldiers nodded respectfully in Shepard's direction, and the gates were opened without so much as a pause.

Shepard did most of the talking inside the camp, discussing where to find the Primarch with a Turian General. Casey kept off to the side, this wasn't the kind of thing she was good at. Instead she found herself staring at Palaven. The planet was not in good shape. Huge sections of it appeared to be ablaze. She could see Turian ships firing on Reaper forces, but it was soon clear that they were not making so much as a dent. In fact, they were so small a threat that the larger Reapers were not even firing back, instead focusing their attention on the planet itself. Casey felt her stomach sink. Where was Garrus? On one of those ships, surely moments away from being blown to pieces? Or on the planet itself, perhaps inside one of those huge orange blazes? Or nowhere? She didn't want to think about that, however now she could not seem to shake the thought away. What if he was dead? No one had heard from him in such a long time. What if he had been killed in the attack?

"Hey, you ok?" James' hand was on her shoulder, and for the first time Casey was glad of the helmet. She nodded. "Yes."

"Come on," James said gently. "Need to secure the satellite tower."

* * *

They approached the tower within ten minutes, and it became clear why the Turian's needed help. Wave after wave of Husk seemed to be appearing from nowhere, and there were only a couple of Turian soldiers left. Casey felt her heart begin to race. _Here we go again._

The three of them opened fire on the Husks, and they were soon dropping to the ground. Shepard was using his sniper rifle, carefully aiming shots through the skulls of the nearest creatures. James, on the other hand, was using an assault rifle, and piles of Husks began to gather around him as he took them out. Casey had a pistol, and though she wasn't as fast as the others, she was still doing some damage.

James called over to Shepard. "A little slow there old man, getting tired?"

Shepard laughed, "It's all about precision Vega, something you seem to lack." Shepard fired a shot through the eye of a Husk that was just feet away from James, who barely reacted as it fell in front of him.

James shrugged. "Sure, you could say that. Though I'd probably say that all that time in lock up has affected your skill with a gun, that's all." He fired on three Husks, taking all three to the ground in a barrage of bullets. Casey felt like she was watching a TV show, these two were having a casual conversation while fighting creatures who wanted nothing more than to rip them in half!

Shepard wasn't done. "Come on Vega, anyone can make a kill with an assault rifle: that thing's just constant power and nothing else. But if you want something done right, you take your time and do it precisely."

"Ok, let's put that to the test," James replied. "Casey, what do you prefer, something strong and powerful, or 'slow, precise and lame'?"

"I did not say lame-" Shepard interrupted, but James was unperturbed.

"I'm asking Casey."

"Uhh, guys, are we really talking about this now?" Casey asked, firing two shots at a Husk that seemed just inches away. But Shepard piped up. "Ok, sure, Casey, would you go for precise, accurate, and ultimately someone who gets the job done right? Or some guy who just keeps firing all over the place until he runs out of ammo?"

"I feel like you're not talking about soldiers anymore," Casey suggested, unable (despite the fact Shepard had just shot a husk that was almost on top of her) to keep the laughter out of her voice.

"What?" James' tone was mock surprise. "Casey, I don't know what you're insinuating."

Shepard joined in, right after downing another Husk. "Honestly Casey, you have to make everything so seedy."

James nodded, "I'm telling you, her mind lives in the gutter."

Casey laughed, overwhelmed with a strange feeling of being home…even though she was on a moon…killing monsters.

James glanced around. "I think that's all of them," he said his tone back to business. Shepard nodded, pointing at the tower. "Once that thing's working we should be able to locate the Primarch. James?"

James nodded, heading up the ladder. "Keep an eye out for creepy naked guys with blue lights for eyes."

Now Shepard and Casey were alone, and for the moment, free from Husk interruption. Casey felt her eyes moving towards Palaven once more.

"I'm sorry for bringing you here," Shepard said quietly.

"Why?" Casey asked.

"Garrus." Shepard replied, and all the happiness Casey had been feeling just moments ago seemed to turn to vapour inside her mind.

"It's ok," she muttered, wanting to end this conversation as quickly as possible.

"I'm sure he's fine," Shepard pressed. "Garrus has survived much worse than this."

Casey raised an eyebrow, though of course Shepard couldn't see. But he seemed to sense it anyway, because he continued. "Ok, so perhaps not worse, but he's tough. He won't let himself be taken down without a fight, and he's got a lot of fight left in him."

Casey nodded. "When did you last speak to him?" She asked, barely able to form the words.

"A few months ago."

"How…how was he?"

Shepard paused for a long time, and that didn't exactly fill Casey with hope. "He was…he was fine." Shepard waited a moment before continuing. "I mean, as fine as he could be. What happened to you, it hit him hard. He was still trying to cope with that."

"He spoke to you about it?"

"A little, but he didn't need to. We could all see. I'd never seen that side of him before…it was like he…" Shepard trailed off. "Sorry, not exactly what you want to hear right now."

Casey had been about to ask him to continue, but then James called to say he'd fixed the transmitter, and it was too late.

* * *

The three made it back to camp without any serious issues. There had been another wave of Husks, but the group had dispatched them quickly. Once they arrived, Shepard informed the General of their success, who then informed them that the Primarch had been killed, and that the Turian who was next in line for the role was not answering his communicator.

Casey began to feel a bit frustrated, had that whole exercise been a waste of time? But the General continued, "Like I say, I can't raise the new Primarch on the radio, but I can help you."

"How?" Shepard asked.

"There's someone here who was fighting with Victus this morning. He'll take you to where they were, and hopefully you can pick up his trail from there."

The general spoke quickly into his radio, and soon another Turian arrived at the bunker. He took off his helmet. "Shepard, good to see you."

Garrus.

Casey felt her knees give way, but luckily James was beside her, and quickly steadied her. Garrus didn't seem to notice, he was shaking hands with Shepard, speaking with him hurriedly. Shepard nodded and Garrus disappeared to another bunker.

_Was that real?_

It was over so quickly, Casey felt dizzy. She wondered whether her helmet was actually working, because right now she could barely breathe. "You ok?" James asked.

She couldn't reply, she could barely nod.

Shepard was in front of her now, and he spoke very quickly. "Casey, I'm so sorry to ask you this, but I need you to keep your helmet on. Garrus can't know you're alive, not right now."

"Wh-why?" Casey asked, still feeling like she was in a dream.

"He thinks you died, he thinks he saw it happen. I have no idea what seeing you will do to him, and right now he's our best chance at finding Victus. We need Garrus focusing on the task, if he becomes distracted or overwhelmed he won't be able to defend himself, and none of us want him to get hurt. This place is crawling with Reaper troops."

It all made sense, and Casey nodded. She felt like nodding was all she ever did. There was no way she'd risk Garrus' safety, or the mission, for her own reasons. And besides, right now she could barely nod her head, she wasn't sure she was ready for a reunion at the moment.

Still, when Garrus returned, grinned at James, and looked questioningly at her, it was all she could do not to throw herself at him. Garrus didn't ask who she was, and James muttered something about her being a soldier, so there was no need for her to say anything at all. Not that she could have.

* * *

The four of them headed off towards the last place Garrus had seen Victus, but at the main barricade the Turian's needed their help with another swarm of Husks. Shepard took the main gun, while James and Garrus took out any of the creatures that made it up and over the wall. Casey knew she should be helping, but it was like she had forgotten how to even hold a gun. There was Garrus, her Garrus, only a few feet away. She may not have been ready for a reunion right now, not when she could barely remember her own name, but how she longed to reach out and touch him, to check that he was real. Was that the same Garrus who could melt her heart with a single look? Who made her literally crumble when he put his hands on her skin?

"Hey!" Garrus was yelling at her, and she realised he had just taken out a Husk that had been only inches from her. "You want to wake up?" He asked exasperatedly.

Casey just nodded, worried that if she had even been allowed to speak, she might just cry. The first time she had seen Garrus in almost a year, and he was yelling at her for not paying attention, perfect.

Once the Husks had been dealt with, the team continued on. Shepard and Garrus were upfront, and James hung back.

"You ok Case?" He asked quietly.

"Yes," she replied, knowing that there was no way he would believe her.

"Crazy, huh?" James mused. "He thinks you're dead, you thought he was dead-"

"I didn't think he was dead," Casey interrupted, all her previous thoughts from her arrival on Mennae forgotten, "I just didn't think I would ever find him again."

"It won't be long, you can tell him who you are as soon as we find the Primarch."

Casey thought for a moment. "Do you think he will be happy?" She whispered, not really sure why she had asked that question, didn't she know the answer? Yet she waited for James' reply with baited breath.

He gave the response she had expected, "Are you kidding? He's gonna be…like…completely over the moon! Thanking whatever God those Turian's believe in!" James' voice had a note of concern now. "Why do you ask?"

Casey shrugged, "I don't know. Maybe he's over it…it's been almost a year. What if he doesn't feel the same?"

"Yeah, I might wonder that myself, if he wasn't still wearing your necklace." James patted her on the shoulder and picked up the pace. Casey's heart was swimming, he was still wearing the necklace? How had she not spotted it?

But when they arrived at a clearing and Garrus and Shepard planned their method of attack for the almost completely overrun camp they were about to enter, she saw it too. Not much, but Garrus definitely had some kind of chain was just barely visible above the neck of his armour.

"Victus should be through there," Garrus continued, nodding towards the entrance to the camp. "By the amount of husk bombs we've seen on the way, this place is probably swarming with them. So we need to be fast and do this cleanly." He was looking at Casey now, an unreadable expression on his face, but he didn't say anything else.

* * *

Garrus wasn't wrong, the camp was full to bursting with Reaper forces, and soon Casey was out of breath and bullets. She leaned against a rock considering how she could continue, when Vega threw her his sniper rifle. "No time for this thing myself," he panted, emptying a barrage of bullets from his assault rifle into four approaching husks. "Though we could sure use those biotics of yours."

Casey shook her head, "Doesn't work like that, I can't control it."

"Well ain't that a bitch," James sighed, running to help a Turian caught under some debris before the approaching husks reached him. Casey ran for one of the little huts surrounding the camp, needing cover before she attempted to shoot anyone with the sniper rifle. It had been a while since she'd used one of these, and she had never been that great to start with.

She threw herself into the hut, sure she had been chased, and locked the door behind her. There was a glass-free window in the side, where she could line up her shots in peace. But she wasn't the only one here.

Garrus was there too.

He must've seen her enter, but he said nothing until she finally had the courage to stand beside him. "I hope you know how to use that," he muttered.

Casey nodded.

She lined up her shot, and luckily it hit a husk some twenty feet from the hut. Sure, it was only a chest shot (head shots were preferred with those things), but it was better than nothing. She was surprised she had been able to hit it at all, because Garrus had repositioned himself for his shot, and was now only inches away from her.

God, she wanted to touch him. Just to hold his hand or stroke his face. She longed for that touch. It felt like there were two Garrus', the one she had known and loved all that time ago, and this one, who looked at her like she was no one. No, not even that: he looked _through_ her.

Garrus floored five more Husks before Casey's next shot (she hit the neck this time, and the creature was down). She could hear Garrus breathe beside her, and tried not to think about all the times she had made him breathe faster, the times she had taken his breath away. She remembered the smell of his skin, intoxicating, addictive, and now blocked by his armour. She remembered all those times he had pressed himself against her, had held her so firmly that she had been completely at his mercy.

Casey tried to shake off these thoughts, now was definitely not the time. She lined up her next shot.

Yes! Direct head shot!

Unfortunately, it had not been the Husk she was aiming for, but another one some ten feet from her intended target. Garrus, who she realised had been watching her with great interest, seemed to smile, just for a moment. It may even have been a trick of the light. Casey remembered their time on the shooting range on Omega…he couldn't be remembering that too, could he?

Garrus said nothing, and they continued their shooting in silence. When their view provided them with no more clean shots, they left, and Garrus disappeared without waiting for Casey to follow. She felt her heart break a little, but tried to console herself with the fact that he had no idea who she was.

_Soon_, she thought, _He'll know soon. _

* * *

Time passed, and Casey wondered how long it would be before this fight was actually over. It felt like she had been on this moon for days. She had not seen Shepard or James for some time, but the Husks themselves did seem to be thinning out at least.

Then she saw him. Garrus was surrounded by Husks. How did that even happen? He was fighting them off, but the noise was drawing more, and there was no way he could kill them all.

Casey ran towards him as fast as she could, just in time to see his gun fall to the floor. He disappeared below the growing group. She didn't even need to think, Casey dropped her rifle and threw a biotic warp towards the creatures. It flung back most of the Husks, but more were approaching. Garrus, who had fallen, looked up, and began to climb to his feet, wearing an expression of complete surprise. Casey turned around so she was now standing with her back to him. Again, without even needing to think about what she was doing, she formed a biotic field around them both with one hand, flinging Husks and other Reaper troops that looked surprisingly like Turians, out of the way.

It was exhausting. Casey felt like she was holding a building up with one hand, and trying to pull a shuttle with the other, but she was doing it. She had to keep him safe. Garrus would not die on this fucking moon without even seeing her face!

And then it was over. Somehow the Turians, Shepard, and Vega had managed to secure the camp. Casey felt weak, and dropped to her knees. Garrus was standing in front of her, but did not kneel beside her. "Thank you," he muttered. "But you didn't need to do that."

Then he walked towards Shepard, leaving Casey alone on the cold rock.

"It's time."

Casey looked up. Shepard was kneeling beside her. She had no idea how long she'd been on the ground for, but she knew she was still woozy from the biotics.

"What's time?" She asked drowsily.

"Victus is coming with us, Garrus too. I thought you might want to tell him now."

Casey's heart hammered in her chest, so hard she wondered if she was actually having a heart attack. She quickly nodded, and Shepard helped her up. "Vega and I will radio the shuttle, I'll give you as much time as I can."

And with that he was gone, and Casey was alone. She could see Garrus by the nearest hut, looking up at Palaven. She had to do it now, this waiting was killing her. She took a breath, and made her way over. Garrus heard her approach, and turned to face her. Suddenly she was afraid of him. This tall, strong, intimidating figure. Was this really the person who had looked after her so tenderly? Who had told her she owned his heart? But the flash of light reflected on the chain around his neck was just enough to force her on.

Yet she couldn't speak.

"I am grateful," Garrus said before she could mentally kick herself any more for not being able to talk. "I can see what those biotics took out of you. But you didn't need to do it. I would've been fine." He paused, then continued. "Or I wouldn't, but either way it's ok with me. I'll do what I have to do for Shepard, but to be honest I don't really give a damn anymore." He looked at Casey properly for the first time. "Not really sure why I'm telling you this."

Finally, Casey found some words. "Because I care."

Garrus froze for a moment, but then seemed to shake it off. "Why?" He asked raising an eyebrow and looking at her cynically.

Casey took a breath. "Because I love you."

Garrus recoiled slightly, all colour draining from his face. Then he moved closer. "Who…who are you?"

Casey's hands shook as she reached for her helmet and slid it off.


End file.
